Britain's most dangerous roads: 10 roads you should avoid

A study has revealed that accidents on Britain’s roads cost us a staggering £36 billion each year – more than GP services and primary schools combined. Here, we let you know the 10 roads you should avoid.

The EuroRAP (European Road Assessment Programme) assesses motorways and A roads outside of urban areas. It’s ranked roads that are ‘persistently higher risk,’ with the A537 from Macclesfield to Buxton coming out on top. EuroRAP assessed data by UK county between 2010-12 and 2013-15.

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Britain’s 10 most dangerous roads

These are the roads that EuroRAP has rated as ‘persistently higher risk.’ They’ve seen no significant improvements over the two data periods – 2010-2012 and 2013-2015 – and have been rated as ‘high’ or ‘medium-high’ risk during both time frames.

Road	Fatal and serious crashes (10-12)	Fatal and serious crashes (13-15)
1. A537 – Macclesfield to Buxton	11	12
2. A254 – from junction with A28 in Margate to junction with A255 near Ramsgate	8	15
3. A259 – from junction with A2036 at Glyne Gap to just outside Ore	21	31
4. A588 – from Lancaster to junction with A585 outside Poulton-le-Fylde	20	29
5. A6 – from junction with A589 in Lancaster to M6 junction 33	25	26
6. A32 – from M27 J10 to Delme Roundabout; Quay St roundabout to Gosport ferry	28	38
7. A3055 – junction with A3054 in Freshwater to junction with A3054 in Ryde	31	36
8. A21 – from junction with A2100 to junction with A259 at Hastings	14	15
9. A18 – junction with A46 near Laceby to junction with A16 near Ludborough	13	11
10. The A4 – from junction with Huntercombe Spur to junction 5 of M4	26	26

The EuroRAP ‘persistently higher risk’ category is a category given to roads that are “busy higher risk roads where serious crashes are little improved or worsening.”

EuroRAP wants to ensure that road safety remains high on the government’s agenda, pushing for investment into Britain’s roads to make them safer.

The 5 most dangerous counties to drive in

The Road Safety Foundation has launched a risk map of the UK’s most dangerous roads, the Road Crash Index, which lets you see road crash data by county.

The risk map then gives you the opportunity to get in touch with your local MP over email or Twitter.

Here are the five most dangerous counties to drive in, looking at the average annual total cost of crashes between 2010-2012 and 2013-2015.

County	Cost of crashes (10-12)	Cost of crashes (13-15)
1. South Glamorgan	£105 million	£115 million
2. Somerset North and Bath	£91 million	£98 million
3. North Yorks and Teeside	£73 million	£76 million
4. Surrey	£52 million	£60 million
5. Devon	£109 million	£105 million

The 10 most improved roads – at a glance

The EuroRAP report also highlights the 10 most improved roads over the same time period, which include the A1451 in the South West and even the infamous M25, which showed a 73 per cent improvement in fatal and serious accidents from 2010-12 to 2013-15.

• A4151, from junction with the A4136 to the junction with the A48
• A540, from junction with the A494 to the roundabout where the A540 meets the A5480 and Blacon Avenue
• A14, junction 55 to junction 58
• A10, from junction 25 of the M25 (Waltham Cross Interchange) to the Great Cambridge Road Roundabout on the North Circular (A406)
• A535, from junction with the A50 in Holmes Chapel to the junction with the A537 and the B5359
• A559, from junction 10 of the M56 to the crossroads in Lostock Gralam where Hall Lane meets Manchester Road and Station Road
• M25, Junction 24 to junction 25
• A6075, from junction with A60 in Mans eld Woodhouse to A614 at Ollerton
• A3100, from A3 at Milford to 200m before Sandy Lane in Guildford excluding A283 at Milford
• A537, from the A50 south of Knutsford to the A523 in Macclesfield

Britain’s worst traffic hotspots

Tallying up the number of hours Britons have lost to traffic is enough to make anyone weep, as is the subsequent cost to the UK economy.

But this is exactly what the folks at traffic analysts Inrix have been studying, according to the BBC.

Inrix have revealed that:

• Between September 2016 and August 2017, disruption on motorways and A roads caused 3,700 jams a day

• The worst jam over that period was on the M5 on 4 August 2017 caused by a fuel spill, which saw a 15 hour disruption and drivers 36 miles away affected (and a £2.4 million cost to the economy)

• Three of the top five worst jams were in separate incidents on the M6

• Congested roads are also a severe problem. In a separate study, Inrix said that 2016’s most congested road was the A406 Northbound from Chiswick Roundabout to Hanger Lane in Ealing, London, which drivers lost 73 hours to

Minimising disruption to your work and staying safe

Lost hours caused by traffic disruption can be very costly and with some roads proving more dangerous than others, being mindful could help you stay safe.

Some safety measures go without saying – keeping your vehicle safe to drive (for example by knowing when your MOT test is due), not using your mobile phone while driving, and wearing a seatbelt aren’t just recommendations, they’re legal requirements.

Over the next few years, keeping up to date with vehicle technology could help make Britain’s roads safer.

In its 2017 five-year road safety strategy, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) noted that in the next four years we could start seeing vehicles that you can park with line-of-sight remote control.

In terms of avoiding traffic, the RAC suggests some relatively straightforward advice. This includes leaving earlier or later than when most cars will be on the road, avoiding main roads during peak hours, and looking for alternative routes when possible. The RAC also suggests avoiding common congestion hotspots, for example shopping centres, DIY superstores, and beaches.

How do you stay safe on Britain’s roads? Let us know in the comments below.