A FATAL accident at a hazardous junction along the A414 has highlighted the urgent need for action, a councillor has said.

A man driving a BMW motorcycle died after being in collision with a blue Ford Fiesta.

The road was closed for a number of hours following the incident while investigations and recovery took place.

Four ambulances and the air ambulance attended the scene, but the 64-year-old biker from Enfield was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman driving the car was cut free from her vehicle and taken to the QE2 Hospital with serious injuries, but discharged on Monday.

A man and two children with minor injuries were also taken to hospital.

The scene, a ‘longabout’, falls within a 50mph zone, but Colney Heath district councillor Chris Brazier said it was “merely used as a chicane” and that “it’s not unusual for drivers to pass through the junction at speeds up to 80mph”.

He has been campaigning for the junction to be made safer for a number of years, but has consistently been told by Hertfordshire Highways it is not a priority, as there had not been any fatalities there. In 2007 he was told the junction was 143rd down the list of hazardous sites.

He said: “I’ve been campaigning for years to get safety provisions on this longabout as it does not slow traffic down.

“It makes it very difficult to get out of the village and in the mornings there are tailbacks of people waiting to get out of Colney Heath and Smallford, and it can take over 20 minutes.”

Cllr Brazier said a turn left only lane from Colney Heath onto the A414 would help but he believed the only viable solution which would stop people using the longabout as a “chicane” was to implement traffic lights at the junction.

He added: “This accident has highlighted the problems with the longabout and Herts Highways really needs to look at it again.”

A spokesman for Hertfordshire Highways said: “A safety scheme is planned for the A414 longabout which includes putting traffic signals in at the junction with Smallford Lane.

“This will help to slow vehicles down and create gaps in the traffic which should make it easier to access the A414 from Smallford Lane and Colney Heath.

“Our proposals are subject to public consultation and, if agreed, we hope to carry out this work in spring 2012.”