The most dangerous road in Britain

The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire were the first people to sign a petition calling for the reduction of the speed limit on the A59 on the stretch between the hamlets of Storiths and Deerstones, to Bolton Bridge.

The petition was started by Craven councillor Christopher Knowles-Fitton after residents of Beamsley approached him about the problem during a meeting.

A report by motoring organisation the Automobile Association labelled the road as the most dangerous in Britain with the highest crash rate for cars and vans.

The report says that motorists regularly travel at speeds of up to 90mph on the long straight single carriageway and crashes tended to occur at the dozens of junctions with minor roads. Many tourists use the 19-mile route between Skipton and Harrogate and are unfamiliar with partially obscured junctions.

There were 43 deaths and serious injuries in the three years between 2000 and 2003. Once the level of traffic is taken into account, the casualty rate was 145 deaths and serious injuries per billion kilometres driven, according to the AA.

Resident John Pickering, who moved to Harrogate Road in Beamsley from Addingham 14 months ago, said the primary school at Beamsley Hill was a regular accident blackspot. There are two junctions - one for Storiths and one for Deerstones, almost opposite each other, nearby. The A59 in that section comprises two lanes plus a crawler lane for slow traffic going uphill.

"A lorry jack-knifed and smashed down the school sign six weeks ago at 9.15 in the morning. In December a lorry jack-knifed there and shed its load," said Mr Pickering.

Mortgage adviser Mr Pickering, 34, says he and his wife, Victoria, fear for the safety of the children at the school who will be joined in the future by their own daughter, Florrie, born five months ago.

He said the main problem was caused by speed and unfamiliarity with the road. "If you are aware of how dangerous it is, there is no problem but most people who have accidents are from outside the area and don't know the road," he said.

He said that accidents were so frequent that a sign designed to be used in snowy weather saying 'Road Blocked' was more commonly used because of collisions. The permanent sign is hinged so the words 'Road Blocked' can be displayed when needed.

Mr Pickering said: "As far as I can establish, the highways authority have no plans to improve the situation."

He said that the road not only went past the school it also passed the Beamsley Project holiday accommodation for disabled people, and the local church.

Coun Knowles-Fitton said he had recently been driving in the area and slowed down behind a car which was travelling down the hill. As he slowed down he was shocked to be overtaken by two lorries and a van.

He said that for traffic travelling down the hill and turning right into Storiths the problems were particularly dangerous. Drivers either had to wait in the inside lane to turn, meaning they were overtaken by vehicles speeding down behind them, or had to wait in the middle lane which was the overtaking lane for vehicles travelling in the opposite direction. Either way the risk of a crash was high.

"It is a lethal stretch of road," said Coun Knowles-Fitton.

He said that when he started the petition he got the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire to sign it because they were very concerned about road safety in the area. They also asked for a few spare petition sheets to hand out to people on the estate at Bolton Abbey.

Coun Knowles-Fitton said he wanted to bring as much pressure as possible to bear on the authorities to get the speed limit reduced from 60mph to 40mph. So far around 150 people have signed the petition, a remarkable indication of the strength of local feeling considering how small the population of the area is.

The Gazette asked North Yorkshire traffic police for a comment about road safety in the area but there was no-one available to speak about it.

At the time of going to press no reply had been received from North Yorkshire County County Council.