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The latest research shows that a 43km stretch of single carriageway on the A40 between Carmarthen and Llandovery is Britain's most improved road. The previous level of 54 fatal and serious collisions have been cut by more than 80 per cent to ten, by introducing measures such as resurfacing and improvements to the design and layout of junctions. A further nine roads are rated among the most improved where, typically, resurfacing, changes to junction layout, better signing and white lines are bringing about more than 50 per cent reductions in fatal and serious accidents.

Road Safety Foundation names Britain's most dangerous roads
Posted 1st July 2010
The annual road tracking survey report, carried out by the Road Safety Foundation, was unveiled at a briefing in Westminster on 30th June.

The report, the largest analysis of its type anywhere in the world covering 28,000 miles, shows where the high-risk roads are where road trauma and high costs are concentrated. The report highlights that the high costs of emergency services, hospitals and long term care for the disabled can often be avoided through little more than the cost of a pot of paint. Britain's finances may be exhausted but the report shows that savings in the cost of road crashes, costing 1.5 per cent of GDP and worth £18bn annually, are readily achievable.

Road crashes are Britain's largest cause of premature death, and the Road Safety Foundation's annual survey identifies that:
* 10% of Britain's motorways and A roads are unacceptably high-risk
* Half of all fatal collisions occur on one-tenth of Britain's road network
* A40 Llandovery-Carmarthen: UK's most improved road
* A537 Macclesfield-Buxton: UK's most persistently dangerous road

A speeding car
* A18 Ludborough-Laceby: highest-risk road (when motorcycles are excluded)
* Scotland has the highest average risk rating of all regions
* West Midlands is the safest region, with the lowest average risk rating.

Commenting on the report's findings, Dr Joanne Hill, director of the Road Safety Foundation said, "As the road budget becomes tighter, emphasis must be on saving lives with less. It means systematic attention to detail, prioritising treatment of the highest-risk routes most likely to benefit from low-cost, high-return countermeasures."

The briefing was hosted by Lord Dubs, Chairman of the Road Safety Foundation.
Posted 1st July 2010

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New Report Identifies the Most Dangerous Roads in Britain

A report published this week by the Road Safety Foundation, which is the British arm of the European Road Assessment Programme, has revealed Britain’s most dangerous roads in terms of accident numbers. Road traffic accident claims are widely believed to be on the rise in the UK, with whiplash compensation claims forming the bulk of new cases. By naming Britain’s most dangerous roads, the Road Safety Foundation hopes to raise safety awareness among drivers who frequently travel on them. In case the value of naming such roads is lost on motorists, it is a sobering point to note that 50 per cent of all fatal road accidents in Britain occur on just 10 per cent of its roads.

The Road Safety Foundation’s report covers 28,000 miles of A-roads and motorways in Britain and identifies the A537 between Macclesfield in Cheshire and Buxton in Derbyshire as the nation’s most dangerous stretch of road. The A537 is notable for its location within the Peak District; winding roads, blind corners, sharp bends and steep falls abound on the A537, which also happens to be surrounded by mountainous rock faces and dry-stone walls. Known as the Cat and Fiddle, the A537 pass through the Peak District claimed 34 lives between 2006 and 2008 – 19 more than the three years leading to 2005 – and most crashes tend to happen in daylight conditions.

After the A537, the A5012 Pikehall to Matlock (Derbyshire) is Britain’s second most dangerous road, followed by the A621 Baslow (Derbyshire) to Totley (South Yorkshire), A625 Calver to Sheffield (South Yorkshire) and A54 Congleton to Buxton (Derbyshire). The top ten most dangerous roads in Britain are rounded off by the A581 Rufford to Chorley (Lancashire), A5004 Whaley Bridge to Buxton (Derbyshire), A675 Blackburn to Preston (Lancashire), A61 Barnsley (South Yorkshire) to Wakefield (West Yorkshire) and A285 Chichester to Petworth (West Sussex).

Dr Joanne Hill, director of the Road Safety Foundation, claimed that more could be done to improve safety on Britain’s most dangerous roads at relatively little expense. Dr Hill said: “Not only can Britain reduce road deaths and serious injuries but, by targeting a relatively small mileage of high-risk roads, we can do so with good economic returns. Too often we pay for emergency services, hospitals and care for the disabled rather than taking easy steps to put road design faults right”.

Although the most dangerous road in Britain was listed by the report as the A537, Scotland was regarded as having the highest-risk highways; in fact, one in every nine fatal crashes occur in Scotland. Excluding crashes involving motorcycles further skews the top ten most dangerous roads list, with the A18 in North East Lincolnshire emerging as the most hazardous. Obviously, crashes occur for different reasons in different circumstances at different locations, so while one road may be particularly dangerous for car drivers another might pose greater risks for motorcyclists. Understanding why such trends arise is key to improving road safety.

The report by the Road Safety Foundation claimed that a third of all accidents involving fatal or serious injuries occur at junctions and 25 per cent of such crashes that take place on A-roads or motorways involve motorcyclists. Single roads are six times more dangerous than motorways and twice as dangerous as dual carriageways. According to the report, the West Midlands is the safest British region in which to drive, whilst the A40 between Llandovery and Carmarthen has experienced the most safety improvements.

GB EuroRAP Results 2010: Saving Lives for Less
30/Jun/2010

* 10% of Britain's motorways and A roads have unacceptably high risk
* Half of all fatal collisions occur on one-tenth of Britain's road network
* A40 Llandovery-Carmarthen: UK's most improved road
* A537 Macclefield-Buxton: UK's most persistently dangerous road
* A18 Ludborough-Laceby: highest risk road (when motorcycles are excluded)
* Scotland has the highest average risk rating of all regions
* West Midlands is the safest region, with the lowest average risk rating
Britain's finances may be exhausted but savings in the cost of road crashes costing 1.5% of GDP and worth GBP18bn annually are readily achievable. The high costs of emergency services, hospitals and long term care for the disabled can often be avoided through little more than the cost of a pot of paint, according to the annual road tracking survey carried out by the Road Safety Foundation - the largest analysis of its type anywhere in the world, covering 28,000 miles. The report, which shows where the high risk roads on which road trauma and high costs are concentrated, will be unveiled today.

Road crashes are Britain's largest cause of premature death, and the Road Safety Foundation's annual survey identifies: specific roads that are 10 times more prone to death and serious injury than others in the UK's network; one-third of all fatal and serious collisions occur at junctions: single carriageways are 6 times the risk of motorways and twice that of duals: 1 in 7 primary roads is high risk compared to 1 in 33 non-primary.

For the first time, in-depth analysis from a regional perspective reveals how the network changes across borders.

Topping the list of the UK's 10 most improved roads is the A40 Llandovery-Carmarthen, where junctions have been upgraded, new road markings introduced and extensive resurfacing carried out, including anti-skid treatments, saving 20 fatal and serious collisions between 2006-2008: a 74% reduction.

Consultation with road authorities on improvements show that simple, relatively inexpensive engineering measures are paying dividends, contributing to more than 70% fewer fatal and serious collision in the last three years on the top ten roads listed. Improvements to signing and markings, resurfacing, particularly the use of high-friction anti-skid treatments, and the layout and signing of junctions are common.

The report lists the UK's 10 persistently higher risk roads which have shown little or no change since the earlier report covering 2003-2005.

Top of this year's persistently higher risk roads is the A537 between Macclesfield and Buxton, known nationally as the Cat and Fiddle. A 50mph single carriageway, running through the Peak District National Park, the route has severe bends, steep falls from the carriageway and is edged by dry-stone walls or rock face for almost all of its length. It is popular with tourists, heavy goods vehicles and high-powered leisure motorcyclists. Fatal and serious collisions on this section have risen by 127% in the last 3 years rising from 15 in 2003-2005 to 34 in 2006-2008, with most crashes at weekends during the summer in dry, daylight conditions. Police records show that the vast majority of casualties were motorcyclists, from outside the local area, male, and with an average age of 35.

Most of the higher risk roads are in the north of the country, with almost all in the North-West, Yorkshire and the Humber and the East Midlands.

The Road Safety Foundation report also lists the UK's top 10 highest risk roads when collisions involving motorcyclists are excluded. These are not traditionally scenic routes or tourist areas, but tend to be a combination of rural and more built-up sections, with frequent junctions, varying speed limits and used heavily by local commuters.

Topping this list is the A18 from the A16 (Ludborough) to the A46 at Laceby in Humberside. Most of these roads are single carriageway A roads, with nine of the 10 in the North-west and Yorkshire and the Humber regions.

Commenting on the report's findings, Dr Joanne Hill, director of the Road Safety Foundation says: "As the road budget becomes tighter, emphasis must be on saving lives with less. It means systematic attention to detail, prioritising treatment of the highest risk routes most likely to benefit from low-cost, high-return countermeasures.

"This years report shows that not only can Britain reduce roads deaths and serious injuries but that, by targeting a relatively small mileage of high risk roads, we can do so with good economic returns. Too often we pay for emergency services, hospitals and care for the disabled rather than taking easy steps to put road design faults right.

"There are practical examples of how, with attention to detail, some authorities are slashing the toll of death and serious injury on high risk stretches by as much as three-quarters. Simple, relatively inexpensive engineering measures, such as improvements to signing and lining, resurfacing and the layout of signals at junctions, are paying dividends and are affordable particularly when done as part of well planned routine maintenance. "
Plus list of areas ...

There are practical examples of how, with attention to detail, some authorities are slashing the toll of death and serious injury on high risk stretches by as much as three-quarters. Simple, relatively inexpensive engineering measures, such as improvements to signing and lining, resurfacing and the layout of signals at junctions, are paying dividends and are affordable particularly when done as part of well planned routine maintenance. "

Interestingly in my area the fast, straight, but basically unimproved roads are generally safer than the wiggly ones, which (IME) have a lower average speed. And they say speed kills.

Interestingly in my area the fast, straight, but basically unimproved roads are generally safer than the wiggly ones.

Hold the front page while we enroll in the School of the bleeding obvious. (Not a dig at you, Johnny)

Brake would, of course, categorise a fast straight road as inherently dangerous as it encourages overtaking.

When I first started working at Parcelforce, I did Mid Wales in a diesel Escort Van (very good handling)), it was suprising how many "sports" cars that would hold me up when driving the twisty Welsh roads.