The UK’s most improved roads

This year’s most improved road is a rural 20km (13 mile) single carriageway section of the A605 in Cambridgeshire, from just outside Peterborough, through Whittlesey and out to the busy junction of the A141. Speeds through villages are 30 or 40mph, with the rest of the route at 60mph.

Over the two survey periods, fatal and serious crashes fell by 74% from 34 to 9, and its risk rating improved from medium in 2001-2005 to low-medium in 2006-2010.

In the first survey period (2001-2005) crashes at junctions, involving vulnerable road users and vehicles running off the road were prominent, each accounting for 30% of the total. Between 2006-2010 these proportions fell to 11% for each category.

Collisions were concentrated near the lower-speed limit areas, so visual clues of built up areas – such as village gateways and “dragon’s teeth” road markings – now warn drivers of hazards ahead, and speed cameras, combined with this traffic calming, contributed to the improvements.

The most significant improvement along the whole route is a 9km section between Whittlesey and Coates, with a 74% drop in the number of fatal and serious crashes over time, from 23 to 6, represents a saving of £1.4m per year.

Around the UK

The average risk rating has fallen in all regions, at 31 fatal and serious crashes per billion vehicle kilometres travelled. Higher than average risk was seen in Scotland, Yorkshire & the Humber, East Midlands, Wales and East of England; while lower than average risk was evident in the South-East, North-West, South-West, North-East and the West Midlands.

South East

• Despite accounting for just 13% of the total road network by length, 1 in 5 fatal and serious crashes on motorways and A roads occurred in the South-East
• The South-East carried over one-fifth of traffic using the British motorway and A road network, significantly more than the remaining regions
• The region’s highest-risk road is the A269 between the A271 and Bexhill, and it has three of the 10 busiest high-risk roads: A21; A271 and A264

South West

• The highest-risk road here is the A371 between Wincanton and Shepton Mallet
• Most improved road in the region is the A435, Cheltenham to the A46, where measures include widening, signing and lining at junctions, interactive signs, resurfacing, traffic calming, speed limit changes, and toucan crossing

East of England

• While average risk rating has fallen across the UK, this is most pronounced in the East of England, which has seen a 30% drop in the five years 2006-2010 compared to 2001-2005. In this region the number of fatal and serious crashes has fallen by 28%. The greatest improvement in this region has come from single carriageways
• Highest-risk: A4012 near Leighton Buzzard
• The region has the UK’s most improved road – the A605, as well as further roads in the top ten “most improved”: the A120 Puckeridge to Braintree; and A1066 Thetford to Diss
• The A113 Chigwell to Chipping Ongar is the region’s busiest higher-risk road.

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