UK road safety issue highlighted

A major road safety issue for the UK has been highlighted by a recent study carried out jointly by the Road Safety Foundation and insurance firm AGEAS. This study has revealed that 60% of fatal crashes in the UK for the 2015-2017 period occurred on just 12.5% of the road network. Numerous studies show that rural A roads with no centre divider and just one lane in either direction have the highest rates of fatal crashes. Two roads in particular, one on the Isle of Wight and the other in Derbyshire, have part
July 8, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

A major road safety issue for the UK has been highlighted by a recent study carried out jointly by the 3375 Road Safety Foundation and insurance firm AGEAS. This study has revealed that 60% of fatal crashes in the UK for the 2015-2017 period occurred on just 12.5% of the road network. Numerous studies show that rural A roads with no centre divider and just one lane in either direction have the highest rates of fatal crashes. Two roads in particular, one on the Isle of Wight and the other in Derbyshire, have particularly alarming rates of fatal crashes. In many instances these are a single vehicle crashes involving loss of control and an impact with unforgiving road furniture or a departure from the roadway.

In a bid to tackle the problem, the UK Government is spending €113.6 million (£100 million) on improving the 50 road stretches with the worst safety records. A safety campaign highlighting the 75 most dangerous routes in the UK has also been launched. Another policy starting in 2020 will see considerable investment being put into improving the safety of the UK’s rural A road stretches. Two of the worst roads in the UK for crashes connect with the town Buxton in Derbyshire. It is of note that rural A roads managed by 8100 Highways England have on average just 25% of the crash risk of those managed by local authorities.


For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Videalert adds clean air capability to digital video platform
    May 14, 2018
    Videalert has added a facility to their hosted digital video platform to identify vehicles by their noxious emissions ratings to help enforce low-emission zone management. Videalert, a UK supplier of traffic enforcement and management solutions, said the addition comes as more UK cities are looking at better enforcement of what is called a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) and Low Emission Zone (LEZ). “While London, Birmingham, Derby, Leeds, Nottingham and Southampton now have the powers to begin tackling this issue
    Read More
  • The IRF India Regional Conference is seeing its 9th edition this year
    July 7, 2015
    The IRF Geneva said that India has the dubious distinction of claiming the highest number of fatalities by road crashes. More than 10% of road-related deaths occur in India alone, and this poses a serious challenge, being the major killer of young and productive lives. While India’s infrastructure programme is being lauded all over the world and high rate of growth has been achieved for the 1.25 billion strong democracy, a significant 3% of the GDP is lost every year due to the uncontrolled and unmanaged
    Read More
  • East African authorities trying to cut spiraling road death rates
    December 10, 2013
    Road fatality rates are rising in East Africa, despite attempts to stem the tide – Shem Oirere writes When a passenger bus in Kenya killed 42 people on August 29th 2013, it coincided with the release of a World Health Organisation (WHO) report that painted a grim picture of the status of road safety in East Africa. The accident at Ntulele shopping centre along the Nairobi-Narok highway, 90km from capital Nairobi, occurred when the bus heading to western Kenya lost control and crashed. The driver is said to
    Read More
  • New Zealand is bucking the trend in road safety with increasing crashes
    June 4, 2015
    New Zealand is bucking the trend worldwide on improving road safety with an increase in crashes on its roads. The country saw 5.7 road deaths/100,000 people in 2014 according to the International Road Traffic and Accident Database, an increase of 16.1% from the previous year. This is the largest increase in the 28 countries surveyed, and largely reverses a 17% reduction from the previous year. The death toll on New Zealand’s roads so far in 2015 is 134, compared to 123 and 100 in the comparable periods of 2
    Read More

Highlighted Content