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Ben Fogle has revealed his ‘life flashed before his eyes’ in yet another near-death experience this week, after almost being hit by delivery van near his home in the village of Fawley outside Henley, Oxfordshire.
The shaken TV adventurer, 50, said he ‘nearly died’ as the delivery driver ‘careered around a blind bend, threw on its brakes and skidded to a halt just a few feet from me and my dog’.
In a lengthy Instagram post on Friday, Ben, who has previously overcome hypothermia, snake bites and having his drink spiked during his global travels, issued a desperate plea for the council to reduce the 60mph speed limit to 20mph
He went onto recall how his two teenage children have also come close to injury on the road.
Recalling the near death experience, the presenter said: ‘I nearly died yesterday. Not on Everest or in some remote jungle. Not on an Ocean or in a desert, but on a small single track lane outside my home in rural Oxfordshire.
‘Given the things I have done and the risks I have taken, it feels a little ironic that my own near death experience should happen so close to home. Let me explain…
Ben Fogle has revealed his ‘life flashed before his eyes’ in yet another near-death experience this week, after almost being hit by delivery van near his home in the village of Fawley
The shaken TV adventurer, 50, said he ‘nearly died’ as the delivery driver ‘careered around a blind bend, threw on its breaks and skidded to a halt just a few feet from me and my dog’
‘I was running along the road with my dog at my side. I don’t run along the road because I want to run on the road but most land is private. I run along the road because it is the only way to reach the fewer and fewer paths and bridleways.
‘A delivery driver driving at the perfectly legal, but obviously dangerous 60mph, careered around one of the many blind bends, threw on its breaks and skidded to a halt just a few feet from me and my dog.
‘My life flashed before my eyes. Just as it had done when my boat capsized on the Atlantic Ocean and when my oxygen bottle exploded on Everest, but this was on a dog walk outside my home.’
Ben described the village, home to several hundred people, as ‘idyllic with children, dogs, horses, farmers and a thriving social community’.
The presenter, who has six dogs and is married to wife Marna, has started a petition to reduce the current 60mph speed limit to 20mph before a fatality occurs after his two children son Ludo, 15, and 13-year-old daughter Iona also had near misses on separate occasions.
He said: ‘While my daughter rides her pony along the road because it is the only way to reach the fewer and fewer bridleways, delivery drivers race at the legal 60mph around blind bends to meet home delivery time targets.
‘While my son cycles on his bike with the dogs, day visitors, blindly following sat nav and the 60mph speed limit career along the single track pavement, sorry road.
‘The only way I can reach the limited footpaths is on the same single track road that I must share with 60mph delivery drivers.
The presenter has started a petition to reduce the current 60mph speed limit to 20mph on the road which his wife and teenage daughter take regularly on horses
Ben shared photos of his family on the single track road and told how blind spots and high speeds have meant they have had some near misses
He went on to claim his two children had also nearly come close to the injury due to the area’s current 60mph speed limit (L-R) Iona, 13, Ludo 15,
In a lengthy post, Ben explained how the incident occurred during a walk with one of his six dogs, with the vehicle narrowly missing the beloved pet
Ben, who shares his children with wife Marina, made a desperate plea to reduce the current speed saying it was ‘common sense’ before a fatality occurred
In a lengthy post he wrote: ‘I nearly died yesterday. Not on Everest or in some remote jungle. Not on an Ocean or in a desert, but on a small single track lane outside my home in Oxfordshire
‘I love living here in this rural idyllic, but I don’t want to die because our local council doesn’t see fit to implement a 20mph limit for a community that relies on the road as our pavement too.
‘We have imposed the 20mph in places which already have pavements. I am a risk taker, so I don’t say this lightly. Someone is going to get killed in our village. Both of my children have had near encounters with speeding traffic.
He added: ‘We are not alone. There are countless other small villages out there who also live with 60mph speed limits through the heart of their community. It is common sense. Our local councillor has tried to no avail. Please help us, before we lose someone.’
He then captioned the post saying that a member of the Buckinghamshire Council cabinet for Transport guidance has said the speed limit had been ‘set against the ‘department transport guidance”.
He concluded no changes would be made until there was a serious accident.
The petition, which runs until May, has already got nearly 3,000 signatures.
Sharing photos of himself and his family on the road, he wrote: ‘Here are a few family photos of us walking along the pavement that we share with cars, trucks, and lorries traveling at 60 mph.
‘The only way to move through our village is along the road. We have had multiple near misses.
The TV adventurer said it was ‘ironic’ it had not happened during one of his trips to the jungle or desert (pictured in the Scottish Highlands)
Ben said no changes would be made until there was a serious accident (Village of Henley pictured)
‘Dogs have been run over and horses spooked. We have had crashes and cyclist crashes, but this is not enough for Buckinghamshire Council to respect the village’s pleas to reduce the speed limit.’
‘We need as many signatures as we can get before they will act.’
Steven Broadbent, Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport, told MailOnline: ‘I am sorry to hear of this resident’s encounter with a dangerously driven delivery vehicle. Our speed limits are set against Department for Transport guidance. The guidance considers the hierarchy of the road, its character, traffic/pedestrian volumes, vehicle speeds, collision history, and infrastructure in the area to ensure limits are appropriate and legally enforceable.
‘As always, we remain responsive to changes in local road and traffic conditions and consider speed limit changes on a case-by-case basis but cannot always agree to every request received.
‘We are aware of the ePetition that is calling for the speed limit through Fawley to be reduced from 60mph to 20mph. Local residents are of course welcome to add their names and the matter will then be considered formally. The ePetition is open until 10 May 2024.’
