More than two in five A-roads in the UK are inadequate, according to a new star-rating system.

More than 40 per cent of the A-roads are no better than two star, according to a report from the IAM Trust, formerly the Institute of Advanced Motorists.

The ratings classify the safety of roads on how well their design protects car occupants from death and severe injury in a collision.

Based on initial surveys of around 4,400 miles of the UK's motorways and A-roads, the new system shows that only 11 per cent of A-roads and just half the length of UK motorways make the top four-star grade.

Dual-carriageways, widely presumed to be the safest A-roads, rated poorer than expected. Most vary between 3 and 4-star along a route, and just two sections, totalling less than 20 miles, make four stars over their entire length - the A66 Middlesbrough ring road north and the A720 Edinburgh city bypass.
 
The IAM Trust co-funded the UK star rating, which has been developed by the European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP).
IAM Trust director Neil Greig said: "The star rating gives responsible drivers a valuable safety tool. Good driving and driver behaviour are key to avoiding accidents. But while errors cannot be eliminated and may be the initial cause of a collision, poor design of the road itself is often the killer.

'When driving on inferior one and two-star roads, motorists must adapt their driving to compensate for the inadequate features of the road. Drivers who understand that the risk of death or serious injury changes with the star rating of different road sections will be better informed and ultimately safer.

'Cutting road deaths requires combined action to improve driver behaviour, to produce safer cars, improve vehicle crash performance, and to provide safety features on the roads themselves.'

Dr Steve Lawson, technical director of EuroRAP, said: 'Our first report shows clearly that many roads do not provide satisfactory injury protection. Dysfunctional one and two-star main roads, many not built to cope with today's traffic, have death rates at least 10 times higher than other roads and are commonplace in the UK.'