Say No To Rural Roads!

Apparently, the most dangerous road in the UK has been listed as the A537 in the Peak District. You’re more likely to be killed there – in fact thirty times more likely – than you if you’re on a standard motorway. The road goes from Macclesfield to Buxton (though I’m sure that is a matter of perspective) and it comes in at the most dangerous in a list of accident blackspots from that famous road safety governing body (ha ha) Police, Camera, Action!

Perhaps more viable a source of information for this particular topic is the expert body EuroRAP – though forgiven yourself if you thought you were an idiot because you hadn’t heard of them. I hadn’t either. But they are about. In 10 regions, each of the most dangerous road types proved to be the ‘rural’ A road. Scary? Yes, given the perceptions that some people have.

Of course I’m talking about the idea that generally speaking, most people will consider built up areas to be more dangerous. They think because there are more cars the risk is greater. The risk is greater, but only to have a minor collision. A major one? Well, look to the A roads for those. Ironically, you’re more likely to even suffer from a minor injury from a crash there.

New road ratings have given the A537 a ‘black’ listing, meaning it is the most dangerous category of road. This can be for a range of reasons, such as a lack of adequate barriers or even road markings being unkempt. Nonetheless, the real reason for the danger of the A537 apparently comes from people blatantly ignoring the speed restrictions.

The road has gone down to a 50mph limit – but the locals are reporting that people are still whizzing past in excess of 70mph. I personally think this comes down to a little bit of psychology. If you know of a ‘good driving’ country road – let’s face it what you mean by that is somewhere you can cane it a little and have a bit of fun throwing the car around – then you will probably drive over the speed limit.

Therefore, in order to combat this problem and lower the likelihood of a crash in that area, maybe there should be highly visible road traffic officers in the lay bys. I would never condone the use of a speed camera unless vital (I saw a report suggesting that some forces have been known to put them up in order to garner more cash from the public), so I’d suggest an actual police presence. This should be enough to deter speed demons.

Unfortunately, there are some drivers that will drive far too fast, whatever the conditions. Perhaps for them there is no salvation. You know the type, hurtling around, trying to impress their friends, ending up spearing off the road and into a ditch. Perhaps the government should publish a list of the most dangerous roads, rather than spending £500 per sign, to quote Top Gear, “that shows a picture of a squirrel with antlers”?

The ultimate arbitrator of road safety always comes down to the driver. You wouldn’t tear past a school crossing at 60mph (unless you’re criminally insane), so why would you take a clearly dangerous turn at that? Perhaps that’s the answer in a nutshell. We have a government who desperately tries to wrap us in cotton wool but fail to give us the real protection we need, where we need it. If they are aware we speed in particular places, let’s try to make those places more safe, as well as educating road users. Or is that just too much of a common sense approach? Answers on a postcard Mr Brown…

To learn more about road safety Brake has plenty of information and resources.

N.B. I do actually quite like country roads – but I also hope I (and none of you out there for that matter) become a needless statistic.