Most of Britain's roads unsafe: E U study

London, June 30 : Almost a quarter of Britain's motorways and nearly a third of the country's A' roads have been rated as unsafe by a leading European motoring body.

EuroRAP, a non-profit making body in Brussels, found that the worst roads were in North England and the Midlands. The group identified an eight-mile stretch of road between Macclesfield and Buxton, the A537, as the nation's most dangerous.

This single carriageway stretch has been the scene of 43 fatal or serious collisions since 2001, three-quarters of which involved motorcyclists, reports The Telegraph.

The figures from the highly respected independent body came a few days after the Government announced that the number of road deaths reached an all-time low last year.

A seven per cent drop meant that 2,943 people died last year compared to 3,172 in 2006.

EuroRAP calculates the safety of a road using a formula comparing the number of serious and fatal accidents to the number of miles driven on a stretch of road.

It expects motorways to be classified as low risk, with fewer than 15 such accidents per billion kilometres driven.

However, 24 per cent of Britain's motorway network failed to meet these standards.

The Highways Agency, however, said Britain's roads were among the safest in the world.

ANI