Most Dangerous Roads in the UK

Save lives motorway sign

Since the start of lockdown back in late March, the UK’s roads have been quieter than usual, with road travel plummeting by 73%, to levels not seen since 1955. However, this doesn’t mean that we should allow ourselves to slip into autopilot when making essential journeys, it is still important that drivers remain vigilant and drive carefully.

Every year there are around 1,700 fatal road accidents throughout the UK and official figures from ChooseMyCar show that most accidents occur on roads with speed limits between 21 to 30mph and speed limits between 51 and 60mph attracted the second-highest amount of accidents.

The A35 in Dorset has been named as the most dangerous road in the UK, with a total of 594 collisions out of 1,837 that happened in the county last year. Nottinghamshire is revealed as the second most dangerous county, with a total of 1,771 collisions last year. The other roads named are as follows:

The most dangerous roads in the UK

  1. Dorset (A35, A354, A3049) – 1,837 collisions
  2. Nottinghamshire (Mansfield Road, A60, A1) – 1,771 collisions
  3. Cumbria (A595, M6, A590) – 633 collisions
  4. Lincolnshire (A52, A16, A15) – 625 collisions
  5. Cheshire (M6, M58, A49) – 434 collisions
  6. Avon & Somerset (A4174; M5, J19-20; M5, J20-19) – 369 collisions
  7. Gloucestershire (A40, A38, A417) – 367 collisions
  8. Staffordshire (A500, A38 Clay Mills, A38 Fradley Lane) – 357 collisions
  9. Warwickshire (A46, A452, A444) – 335 collisions
  10. Greater London (Haringey, High Road; Ealing, Western Avenue; Enfield, Great Cambridge Road) – 298 collisions
  11. North Wales (A548, A55, A5) – 289 collisions
  12. City of London (Bishopsgate, Victoria Embankment, Lower/Upper Thames Street, London Wall/Wormwood Street – 219 collisions
  13. Cleveland (A19, A66, A174) – 207 collisions
  14. Hertfordshire (M1, A1, M25, Hertsmere Borough) – 157 collisions
  15. Bedfordshire (A505, M1, Luton, A5141) – 150 collisions

Overall, London is home to the most accidents across the UK with a total of 25,662 throughout 2018, however, they had the lowest fatal accidents per 1 million people totaling just 12. The number of road accidents across UK regions are as follows:

Road accidents in UK regions

Regions with the most road accidents map infographic (ChooseMyCar)

 

  • London – 25,662 accidents
  • South East – 19,164 accidents
  • North West – 12,701 accidents
  • East of England – 11,762 accidents
  • Yorkshire and the Humber – 10,526 accidents
  • West Midlands – 9,907 accidents
  • South West – 9,792 accidents
  • East Midlands – 8,603 accidents
  • Scotland – 6,405 accidents
  • Wales – 4,214 accidents
  • North East – 3,899 accidents

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    It’s not all gloom and doom though, as there are counties across the UK that have been named the safest based on the low amount of road accidents that have occurred.

    UK's safest counties to drive in

  • Clackmannanshire, Scotland – 0 accidents
  • Cardiff, Wales – 21 accidents
  • Belfast City, Northern Ireland – 21 accidents
  • Tyne & Wear, England – 70 accidents

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    It’s important that we stay safe on the roads, especially looking ahead for when the UK returns to normal. Many of us will have gone weeks without driving on major roads, including motorways and A-roads, so we should try and prepare ourselves to ease back into a motorist mindset.

    As a driver, it is your duty to stay up to date on the rules and regulations of the road and keeping your vehicle in a good working order. Read our post on important vehicle safety checks or refresh your memory with our posts on road sign meanings and UK speed limits and fines.