A MAJOR road from York to the east coast has been named as one of Britain’s most persistently risky routes for motorcyclists.

The York to Driffield section of the A166, which runs from the city to Bridlington, has been identified by a new study as having both a persistently high-risk rating and high percentage of motorbike accidents.

The study, by the European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP), claims many bikers are victims of “unforgiving” road design, poor road maintenance, or the failure of drivers to “Think Bike”.

The road also won the same unfortunate accolade last time the study was carried out, in 2004. The A166 still makes the list, despite the number of fatal and serious crashes falling by 22 per cent, from 39 in 2001 to 2003 to 29 in 2004 to 2006.

The A166 was also found to be one of worst roads in the country for serious accidents involving motorcycles, with 45 per cent of all fatal and serious crashes on the 40-mile stretch involving bikers.

Nationally, three-quarters of deaths or serious injuries on Britain’s most dangerous roads involved motorcycles.

The A1079 between Market Weighton and Hull also made the list, with 62 accidents resulting in death or serious injury in a two-year period.

Other key findings from the 2008 study show: •30 per cent of primary roads fail to rate as safe •a quarter of motorways fall outside the safest band •extra funding would save lives According to Dr Joanne Hill, who heads the Road Safety Foundation, which carried out the research, said: “Poor road design and inadequate safety measures on the majority of the roads in the ‘most dangerous’ list have contributed to a high proportion of the fatal or serious collisions each year.”

Dr Hill said: “The majority of road authorities this year identified the need for significant funding for road safety improvements and maintenance of existing roads as the one thing which would make the biggest difference to reducing fatal or serious collisions on sections within their area.”

Dr Hill said that while there had been an overall drop of 18 per cent in risk across the motorway and main road network in the past three years, the rating of motorways and the primary route network still causes major concern.

“Despite significant advances in knowledge, engineering practice and road-safety countermeasures, 30 per cent of the primary A road sections do not achieve even the top two safest risk bands that we would expect as the minimum safety level for these strategic roads,” she said.

“Also, 24 per cent of motorway sections fall outside the safest risk band.”

A 13km section of road between Macclesfield and Buxton has been named as Britain’s most dangerous road.

The single-carriageway road has been the scene of 43 fatal or serious collisions since 2001, nearly three-quarters of them involving motorcyclists.

The full risk map, showing risk on motorways and primary ‘A’ roads will be available in all Collins Road Atlases, commencing from July 7.


Some recent accidents on danger road.

TWO people were taken to hospital following a collision between a car and a motorcycle with a sidecar on the A166 only last month.

The accident happened near Gate Helmsley, shortly after 7pm on June 15, and the motorcyclist, a man aged 55, was taken to hospital suffering from a broken leg, a broken wrist and pelvic injuries * Retired army officer Colonel George Edward V RochfortRae, of Wonersh, near Guildford, Surrey, was killed on the A166 in March, at Wetwang with its junction with the B1248 Malton road. The 79-year-old motorist was driving a silver Renault Clio towards York when it was in a collision with a silver-coloured Peugeot 206 heading towards Wetwang.

* Two people were taken to hospital after three cars collided on the A166 last August. A woman in her 50s and another aged 71 were taken to York Hospital after the crash involving an Audi, a Mazda 323 and a Vauxhall Corsa, which happened at the Back Lane/Dunnington turn-off. One of the patients suffered a chest injury and the other an injury to the head.

* A man died 11 days after a crash at Garrowby Hill on the A166 last April.

The 23-year-old man, who came from Flamborough, was driving a red Vauxhall Corsa when it left the road on the descent towards Bishop Wilton.

The car rolled over and came to a stop upright in a nearby field. The driver was taken to York Hospital with serious head injuries and was later transferred to Leeds General Infirmary, where he died.