Councils 'must make roads safer'
15 June 2004 The call comes from the chairman of the EuroRAP programme, which has assessed 856 roads in Britain to identify the most dangerous routes and the effect simple safety measures have had. While speed cameras have played a part in reducing rates of death and serious injury, EuroRAP chairman John Dawson says half of the improvements recorded in the latest annual review are down to other measures such as resurfacing work, more visible policing and better signage. He called on local authorities to consider implementing more measures in an effort to drive down accident rates. On many roads the research clearly indicates where engineers need to concentrate their resources to reduce the overall accident rate. We worry that not enough is being done.' The 2004 EuroRAP assessment by the AA Motoring Trust lists the 11 routes in the country which continue to pose a significant risk of death or serious injury to car drivers. The worst five are all in the north-west of England, with an eight-mile stretch of the A537 between Macclesfield and Buxton showing the worst record. Between 2000 and 2002, there were 27 deaths and serious injuries on this stretch - a fall of just 8% compared with 1997-1999. In contrast, the most improved route in the country shows a fall of 80%. On the 8.7-mile A43 between Kettering and Corby, deaths and serious injuries fell from 25 between 1997 and 1999 to just five between 2000 and 2002. |
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