LORRY drivers approaching Felixstowe's deathtrap dock spur roundabout are today faced with an image of a flashing tipping truck if they go too fast.The new vehicle-activated sign, triggered by speeding juggernauts and which urges drivers to slow down, is at last in place.

LORRY drivers approaching Felixstowe's deathtrap dock spur roundabout are today faced with an image of a flashing tipping truck if they go too fast.

The new vehicle-activated sign, triggered by speeding juggernauts and which urges drivers to slow down, is at last in place.

But there could be some concern that the sign is too close to the A14 junction.

Observations by The Evening Star showed that by the time the sign lit many drivers could not reduce their speed enough with such a short distance to the roundabout.

But the Highways Agency - which has carried out the £106,000 safety scheme - is to monitor the impact of the sign.

The work followed a major campaign by The Evening Star, port chiefs and councillors to highlight the roundabout's dangers.

The sign on the eastbound approach to the junction is the first of two to be installed. A second will be put in place on the Port of Felixstowe Road soon.

The port has agreed to pay for one of the signs, which will activate if a lorry is travelling 38mph or higher to persuade drivers to slow down to 20mph to negotiate the junction.

In the past six years, there have been 20 accidents of trucks rolling over or shedding their loads. In the worst crash, motorist Martin O'Sullivan was killed when an articulated lorry landed on top of his car and crushed it flat.

No-one was available to comment from the Highways Agency.

n Do you think flashing speed signs will make lorries slow down? Write to Evening Star Letters, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail EveningStarLetters@eveningstar.co.uk