Road Safety on the A104 Epping New Road

Summary

Epping New Road (A104) was identified by the Department for Transport (DfT) as one of 50 most dangerous roads in the UK. This identification was soon followed by the A104 Epping New Road Safer Roads Fund scheme to address these dangers. Since then, Essex Highways proposals to improve safety includes introducing speed cameras and a speed limit of 40mph along Epping New Road. Whilst these improvements are welcome, these measures will not go far enough to make it safer for road users and forest visitors. 

Epping Forest Heritage Trust (EFHT) analysed crash data collected by Essex Highways. The data captured crashes involving motorists and non-motorists (Pedestrians and Cyclists) along A104 Epping New Road between January 2016 and September 2022. It is clear to see why Epping New Road was identified as one of the most dangerous roads in the UK. Between 2016 and 2022 there were a total of 45 crashes which included motor vehicles, motorcyclists and cyclists, with a total of 65 casualties. Crashes involving cyclists totalled twelve, with three collisions being categorised as serious and pedestrians totalled three with two being categorised as serious.  

There were no recorded fatalities during the period of data capture but more recently there have been a number of crashes that have been fatal.  Tragically, on 16th April 2023, a woman crossing Epping New Road was killed by a motorcyclist. Epping fatal crash: Man arrested after woman crossing road dies – BBC News. Another crash on 31st March 2025 led to the tragic death of a motorcyclist after a collision with a Tesla car. (Motorcyclist dies in hospital a month after Loughton crash – BBC News). 

There continue to be serious collisions and as recently as 20th June 2025, a man and child were hospitalised having been (involved in a crash along Epping New Road – BBC News).

Data analysis

The data analysis shows that the majority of crashes between motorists and non-motorists (cyclists and pedestrians) involved speeds of 40mph or less, so reducing the speed to 40mph as proposed by Essex Highways does not go far enough to make this road safer. Comparatively to other London open green spaces, such as Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common, which have a 20mph speed limit, Essex Council’s approach seems out of step with other local authorities who also manage special areas of conservation.  

In our analysis, we also identified what the data does not show. For example, the data does not capture near misses between motorists and non-motorists, so at face value, this data does not provide a comprehensive picture of the dangers to users of Epping New Road. There is a possibility that this data does not include data on all crashes, as they may not have been reported to the police. It also does not capture how, due to the high speeds, how intimidating the road is to visitors to the Forest. 

Most importantly, perhaps, the data does not capture the devastating impact on victims involved in crashes.  

Image source: Collisons data published by Essex County Council. Red indicates fatal collisions, and blue indicates serious ones.
Click the image to access the interactive digital map. 

Make Epping New Road Safe Campaign

EFHT are committed to advocating for safer roads in and around the Forest to reduce collisions and make it safer and more pleasant for visitors to reach and explore the Forest. We are therefore campaigning to reduce the speed limit of the whole road to 30mph. Collisions at 30mph are far less likely, as they reduce the stopping distance of cars by 15 metres. Moreover, collisions at 30mph are between 3.5-5.5 x less likely to be fatal for pedestrians than collisions at 40mph. The safety of drivers would also massively benefit from this reduction, as the risk of fatalities from frontal collisions between vehicles decreases by up to 14%.  

We also want two safe crossing points installed at Lincoln’s Lane and Mount Pleasant. These are the points most people cross the road, but in 2023 alone two serious collisions took place around Mount Pleasant. One of these resulted in a death. Essex Highways, after consultation with the City of London Corporation, has made provisions for traffic islands at various points across the road, including these two points. However, without adequate traffic calming measures, the dangers inherent to a 40mph road remain (pedestrians using the islands would also be at risk of being left stranded between two streams of fast-moving cars). Safe crossing points, either controlled or fitted with traffic calming infrastructure like speed tables, would protect walkers, cyclists and horse riders as they cross from one side of the Forest to the other, ensuring that as many people as possible can visit the whole Forest safely.

Share your experiences

If you would like to share your story about your experience using Epping New Road, as a pedestrian, driver, cyclist or horse rider, we would love to hear from you. Fill in our online survey here, or email your stories to policy@efht.org.uk 

References: 

Department for Transport. (2010). Relationship between speed and risk of fatal injury: Pedestrians and car occupants (Road Safety Web Publication No. 16). London: Department for Transport. Retrieved from https://www.roadsafetyknowledgecentre.org.uk/rskc-201/ 

Brake: The Road Safety Charity. (n.d.). Stopping distances. Brake: the road safety charity. Retrieved August 17, 2025, from https://www.brake.org.uk/get-involved/take-action/mybrake/knowledge-centre/speed/stopping-distances 

Yannis, G., & Michelaraki, E. (2024). Review of City-Wide 30 km/h Speed Limit Benefits in Europe. Sustainability, 16(11), 4382. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114382  

Williams, D., & North, R. (2013, April 10). An evaluation of the estimated impacts on vehicle emissions of a 20 mph speed restriction in central London (Final report). Centre for Transport Studies, Imperial College London. https://foi.tfl.gov.uk/FOI-3221-2425/20mph%20central%20London%20impact%20evaluation%20Imperial%20College%20April%202013.pdf 

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