Britain's most dangerous roads revealed

Half of the fatal road accidents in the UK's happen on just 10% of the country's roads, according to a report from the Road Safety Foundation.

The study, which examined 28,000 of the UK's A-roads and motorways, revealed that Scotland's roads pose the greatest risk of death and injury, with highways in northern England coming second for risk.

The most dangerous
Britain's most-dangerous road was once again revealed as the Cat and Fiddle Pass section of the A537 between Macclesfield and Buxton in Cheshire.

The Road Safety Foundation, the British arm of the sister organisation of EuroNCAP, wants Government money to be targeted at specific areas of road safety to help reduce deaths and injuries. It believes many lives and the resulting costs could be saved by spending relatively small amount of cash on accident blackspots.

The report revealed:
• More than 30% of serious and fatal accidents occur at junctions
• Single-carriageway roads are six times more dangerous than motorways, and double that of dual carriageways
• Motorcyclists were involved in 25% of fatal accidents on A-roads or motorways
• There has been a 5% reduction in deaths on A-roads and motorways over the past three years
• The West Midlands is the safest place to drive

Safer roads
The report also revealed that many roads have become safer. The A40 between Llandovery and Camarthen in Wales was the most improved section of highway.

Improvements to the road, such as better junctions and resurfacing with anti-skid treatments, contributed to a reduction in serious accidents from 27 between 2003 and 2005 to just seven for the subsequent three-year period.

Dr Joanne Hill, the Road Safety Foundation's director, 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.'

The UK's most dangerous roads
1 A537 Macclesfield to Buxton - Cheshire/Derbyshire
2 A5012 Pikehall to Matlock - Derbyshire
3 A621 Baslow to Totley - Derbyshire/South Yorkshire
4 A625 Calver to Sheffield - South Yorkshire
5 A54 Congleton to Buxton - Derbyshire
6 A581 Rufford to Chorley - Lancashire
7 A5004 Whaley Bridge to Buxton - Derbyshire
8 A675 Blackburn to Preston - Lancashire
9 A61 Barnsley to Wakefield - South/West Yorkshire
10 A285 Chichester to Petworth - West Sussex

Without motorcyclists
The following lists the UK's most-dangerous roads with statistics for crashes involving motorcyclists removed.
The UK's most dangerous roads without motorcyclist figures
1 A18 A16 Ludborough A46 Laceby
2 A61 Barnsley Wakefield
3 A581 A59 Rufford A49 Chorley
4 A675 M65 J3 Blackburn Preston
5 A642 M62 J30 Wakefield A61 Wakefield
6 A675 M65 J3 Blackburn Bolton
7 A645 Knottingley A1041 Snaith
8 A6135 Ecclesfield M1 J36 Hoyland
9 A281 A23 Pyecombe A272 Cowfold
10 A646 Burnley Halifax