MEMBERS of the Holnicote Estate Tenants' Association have renewed calls for safety improvements along the A39 between Minehead and Porlock, urging highways chiefs to act before it's too late. Association chairman David Dalton has written to Richard Newby, Somerset Highways' West Somerset Area traffic engineer, calling for decisions to be taken based on up-to-date local knowledge before someone is killed. He said double white lines were urgently needed down the centre of the road, with lines along the edges of the highway. He also suggested lower speed limits of 50mph and 30mph and new signs calling for motorists to slow down as they entered Exmoor National Park and the National Trusts' Holnicote Estate. His letter stated: "There have been six or more accidents in recent months. "We know what is happening around us now - the situation is rapidly worsening and we do not want decisions taken too late on out-of-date information." As reported in the Free Press in May, residents living alongside the road claim their lives are being blighted by speeding motorists. Trisha Pearce, who lives near Brandish Street, said she was fearful of her and her family's safety and residents were no longer prepared to accept the argument that someone else had to die before something was done. Fellow resident Peter Bate, who lives further down the road in Meadow Cottage, said he believed the stretch between Brandish Street and Bratton was one of the most dangerous in the country. "You couldn't imagine having such a death trap as an entrance point to a national park," Mr Bate said. He claimed some drivers regularly hit speeds of up to 100mph, while some motorcyclists seemed to be using the route to challenge their handling skills. But despite backing from the association, Selworthy Parish Council and the National Trust, the residents have so far been unable to persuade highways chiefs to take action. In a letter to Mrs Pearce, Mr Newby sympathised with the problems affecting residents, but said stricter Department of Transport guidelines meant original plans for a 30mph limit along Holnicote Straight had been abandoned. He conceded the accident record of any road could additionally be taken into account to decide whether lower speed limits were appropriate, but records revealed there had been just nine accidents involving personal injury on that particular stretch over the last five years. He said all but one of the accidents had been designated as "slight", with the ninth deemed "serious". He said no fatalities had been recorded and only one of the recorded accidents could be "directly related to speed", the vast majority being due to "driver error". He concluded: "It is unlikely that this section of road would receive a high priority when competing with others for available funding. "However, I have discussed this issue with your county councillor John Edwards and we are investigating the possibility of a highways safety scheme being developed by the specialist team at County Hall. "At the present time, there are no plans to develop such a scheme but we await to hear the result of our investigations." But the association has refused to let the grass grow under its feet and is asking Mr Newby to outline the course of the "investigation", together with a list of suggested consultees. Mr Dalton said all parties, including West Somerset District Council, Exmoor National Park Authority, The National Trust, Selworthy Parish Council, district and county councillors and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, should be involved in the investigation process. "We urgently require double white lines along the centre of the road and lines at the edges of the road as overtaking and clipping the verges are two of the regular causes of accidents, coupled with some priority road marking at New Bridge. "These are low cost options as a starter which can be put in place quickly," Mr Dalton said. In his letter he called for a 30mph limit past the old isolation hospital and following junctions, rising to 50mph until the end of the Brandish Street straight. He suggested a further 30mph before New Bridge, with the additional back-up of signs welcoming drivers to the national park and Holnicote Estate and calling for them to drive slowly. The association has also provided Mr Newby with details of a serious fatal car crash which happened in 1965, together with anecdotal evidence of further fatalities near the old isolation hospital, Stratford and Headon Cross.