A new Government funded scheme could prevent 1,450 deaths and serious injuries by 2038 according to a Department of Transport report.
The Safer Roads Fund, which is managed by the DoT is set to target 436 miles of England’s most dangerous stretches of A-Road, with improvements to dangerous bends, junctions and pedestrian crossings. In addition, the new injection of cash will also focus on roads where new speed limits need to be introduced and also where roadside shoulders would be beneficial.
A report by the Road Safety Foundation and the RAC Foundation has found that the major improvements to council-run roads could save the nation £550 million in emergency services and treatment costs.
Road Safety Foundation executive director Dr Suzy Charman added: “Finding the right funding mechanisms for safety improvements to our road infrastructure is absolutely essential if we are to break the current plateau in the number of people being killed on our roads.
“The Safer Roads Fund has given us a truly innovative approach to tackling risky roads.”
RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: “This analysis marks the point at which the schemes have been identified and the money allocated. “Now the practical works can start to re-engineer and rehabilitate some of the riskiest roads we have.
“The real prize from this initiative will be the evidence generated about how effective those schemes turn out to be, and the consequent ability that this will give us, we hope, to proactively and systematically set about lowering the risk profile of our roads more widely.”
The 11 stretches of road expected to see the greatest casualty reduction in the next 20 years
1. A588 between Lancaster and Skippool, Lancashire - 151 fewer casualties
2. A683 between Lancaster and Kirkby Lonsdale, Lancashire - 114 fewer casualties
3. A18 between Laceby and Ludborough, Lincolnshire - 91 fewer casualties
4. A529 between Hinstock and Audlem, Shropshire - 68 fewer casualties
5. A5012 between Newhaven and Cromford, Derbyshire - 58 fewer casualties
6. A684 between Leeming and Sedbergh, North Yorkshire - 55 fewer casualties
7. A4 between Junctions 5 and 7 of the M4 in Slough, Berkshire - 54 fewer casualties
8. A6 between Lancaster and Junction 33 of the M6, Lancashire - 47 fewer casualties
9. A361 between Banbury and Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire - 46 fewer casualties
10.= A581 between Rufford and Euxton, Lancashire - 43 fewer casualties
10.= A631 between Market Rasen and Louth, Lincolnshire - 43 fewer casualties