A FORMER parliamentary candidate has branded Black Dam roundabout a “race track” after he was injured in a smash.

Robert Blay, UKIP’s candidate in the last general election for North East Hampshire, has called for the roundabout to be put back the way it was before £11 million worth of improvements were made to it.

Mr Blay, who was in his Mercedes 420 with friend Sally Harrison, 79, and her six-month-old lurcher Tiger, was driving along Ringway South intending to join the roundabout and follow it to continue his journey on the A30.

As Mr Blay began to cross the A339, heading towards the A30, a driver skipped a red light and ploughed into the side of his car, causing it to spin twice.

The 56-year-old suffered a badly bruised collar bone and pain in his shoulder and neck, and has now slammed the layout of the roundabout.

Mr Blay said: “The whole roundabout should be scrapped and we should go back to having the roundabout like before.

“They call it an express lane which just encourages people to go too fast and not concentrate.

“Looking down on it, it looks like a race track – especially when it is quiet because there are so many lanes.

“It encourages people to speed up and jump amber lights and reds.

“And if you are new to the town, it’s so confusing because there are so many traffic lights which are not very well co-ordinated.”

Mr Blay, from Hook, says he does not blame the 51-year-old driver from Wiltshire who drove into his car as “accidents happen”, but is concerned that when drivers attempt to cross the A339 they are unable to see the drivers using the “expressway” route.

The father-of-two believes that in order to prevent further accidents, lanes should be staggered so drivers on the Ringway South and the A339 can see each other.

In October 2014, it was announced that the roundabout would be transformed by Highways England and it was originally expected to reopen in the summer of 2015, but this was delayed until February this year.

Reflecting on the accident Mr Blay, a self-employed legal consultant, told The Gazette: “It was like being in a dodgem car trying to dodge the traffic after I was hit but it was many times worse.”

Mr Blay added: “If I had been hit maybe two feet further, straight on, I have no doubt that the outcome would have been so much different and potentially fatal.

“Something needs to be changed because there is an accident waiting to happen.”

A spokesman for Highways England said: “Safety is our top priority. The new junction was designed in accordance with current standards and in partnership with, and with the agreement of, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and Hampshire County Council.

“Over the junction as a whole we have increased capacity and reduced congestion and there is no indication of any increase in road traffic collision numbers.

“We will continue to monitor the junction closely.

“We urge all drivers, for their own safety, that of their passengers and other road users, always to abide by the Highway Code and not to speed or attempt to jump traffic lights.”