The Dangerous Roads of Derbyshire - Autos

It's fair to say that while England's roads aren't as dangerous as some roads in other countries, it's still important to take care when carrying out delivery work in the United Kingdom; particularly if you find that your current day's deliveries are taking you to the county of Derbyshire where the majority of all the UKs fatal traffic accidents are said to take place. So if your delivery work route contains any of these three dangerous roads, then you may want to look to your GPS for an alternative route, so that you can avoid Britain's worst roads:

A5012 Pikehall to Matlock

The A5012 in Derbyshire stretches 9 miles between Pikehall to Matlock and, according to EuroRap, is ranked as the third worst road in Britain. The eastern part of the road is named the Via Gellia Valley and is commonly used to transport goods from the nearby quarries and stone works. This means that the road can get both stony and wet and is often slippery. This, coupled with the many sharp bends, narrowness of the carriageway and recently imposed 40mph speed limit makes it a road to avoid while carrying out delivery work.

A54 Congleton to Buxton

The A54 linking Congleton to Buxton is the second most dangerous road in Britain and between 2003 and 2005 was responsible for 18 fatal accidents. 26% of all accidents on this road are at junctions so take extra care when using one on this route. Most hauliers will recommend bypassing this stretch of road altogether and taking the A537 and A556, both of which are much quieter roads between the two destinations. Like the A5012, the A54 may be dangerous, but it is also a very scenic road. Many drivers refer to it as the River Dane road as when you carry out your delivery work on this stretch you'll be following the road of the River Dane.

A537 Macclesfield to Buxton

As mentioned above, the A537 is often used as an alternative route to the dangerous Macclesfield to Buxton route. However, this route may be quieter but it is still as dangerous and its large number of accidents means that it is classed by EuroRap as the most dangerous road in the whole of England. The worst part of the road is the second leg between Macclesfield and Burbage. When carrying out your delivery work try to make sure that you're aware of the multitude of sharp corners that this road contains. These sharp corners have made the road extremely popular with bikers. Motorcyclists are responsible for a large proportion of accidents and, as a consequence, the road has a 50mph speed limit enforced. The A537 also contains the highest pub in England, The Cat and the Fiddle, where you can stop for hot food and beverages and look at the Cat.cam to see what the traffic's like for your return journey.

Although the three worst roads in Britain are all located in Derbyshire, you'd be surprised to hear that on average it is Scotland that has the highest risk highways. However, EuroRap hopes that by making drivers aware of dangerous roads before they reach them, more accidents can potentially be avoided.

Norman Dulwich is a Correspondent for Haulage Exchange, the leading online trade network for the road transport industry across the UK and Europe. It provides services for haulage companies to buy and sell delivery work , road transport and returnloads in the domestic and international markets.