Horsham district's '˜riskiest roads' revealed

The most '˜high risk' roads across the Horsham district have been revealed in a new report released today (November 15).
A272 near Wisborough Green. Photo courtesy of GoogleA272 near Wisborough Green. Photo courtesy of Google
A272 near Wisborough Green. Photo courtesy of Google

According to insurer Ageas - using data by the Road Safety Foundation - the South East is the riskiest area for fatal or serious crashes across the whole of Britain.

Over the past year the company says there has been a nine per cent increase in the risk of crashing in the area with several roads in the Horsham district highlighted as some of the county’s ‘highest risk roads’.

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You can see the ten ‘riskiest roads’ in our previous story here: 10 ‘riskiest’ roads in West Sussex

A283. Photo courtesy of GoogleA283. Photo courtesy of Google
A283. Photo courtesy of Google

According to Ageas the riskiest road in the district is the stretch of the A283 between Petworth and Washington, encompassing villages such as Fittleworth, Storrington and Pulborough.

Alongside the A283 the A2037 between Henfield and Upper Beeding has been identified as a ‘persistently high risk road’ whilst the A272 between Petworth and Buck Barn - travelling through Wisborough Green, Billingshurst and Coolham - also poses a high risk to road users.

Just outside the district the A284 between Arundel and Madehurst has been highlighted as a high risk stretch along with the A280 Long Furlong.

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Andy Watson CEO of Ageas Insurance said: “It’s unacceptable that road crashes continue to cost lives. It’s also shocking that they cost society £35bn each year – that’s nearly two per cent of GDP and more than we spend on primary education and GP services combined.”

In light of these statistics Ageas along with the Road Safety Foundation has called on the Government to make an immediate investment of £75m to improve the riskiest roads. It is also campaigning for a further £75m to be invested each year for the next five years to further improve these roads.

The firm says the immediate injection of funds would prevent around 1,100 fatal or serious crashes over the next 20 years whilst further investment could prevent more than 5,600.

Andy continued: “It’s shocking to see that road users in the South East are living with a high risk of death or serious injury as they use the roads in their area. We deal with the devastating aftermaths of serious road crashes every day. That’s why we’re calling for this investment.

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“Infrastructure safety means much more than just filling in potholes. A reduction in crashes won’t just save lives – it’ll significantly benefit the economy. Fewer crashes mean fewer insurance claims – and also mean a saving of £23.2m that we can pass onto our policy holders.”

Suzy Charman Executive Director of the Road Safety Foundation said: “The reality is that progress to reduce the rate of death and serious injury on our roads has flatlined since 2010. The Safer Roads Fund has allowed the road safety community to demonstrate that investing in road safety engineering treatments really does have life-saving potential, and also stacks up as an investment when compared to other transport initiatives.”

The safer Roads Fund was outlined by the Department for Transport in 2016 and aimed to upgrade 50 of the countries most dangerous A-roads.

Ageas said the project will see £100m invested and is expected to prevent 1,450 fatal or serious crashes over the next two decades.

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Suzy added: “If we’re to get back on track and achieve the shared international goal of zero road deaths by 2050, we need to tackle road casualty reduction with purpose and determination. Continuation of the Safer Roads Fund would be one critical way of achieving that goal.”

You can view Britain’s riskiest road via Ageas this interactive map here: https://dangerousroads.ageas.co.uk