Revealed: Our 10 most dangerous roads
JON MACPHERSON
THE most dangerous roads in Hyndburn can this week be revealed by the Observer.
Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act have shown which of our roads are most treacherous when it comes to crashes.
A total of 591 collisions were recorded in the three years between 2013/14 and 2015/16, resulting in 821 casualties and five fatalities.
Blackburn Road, which runsthroughOswaldtwistle, Church and West Accrington, is the most dangerous road according to Lancashire County Council highways figures, with 63 accidents in the last three years.
This is 50 per cent higher than the Hyndburn stretch of the M65 motorway with 42 collisions and Whalley Road in Clayton-le-Moors
TOP TEN DANGER ROUTES
TOP 10 dangerous roads in Hyndburn (incidents in 2013/14 to 2015/2016):
1) Blackburn Road in Oswaldtwistle/Church/ West Accrington ................................................. 63 2) M65 motorway (Hyndburn stretch)........... 42 3) Whalley Road in Clayton-le-Moors............ 39 4) Union Road in Oswaldtwistle.................... 22 5) Hyndburn Road in Accrington................... 18 5) Elton Road in Oswaldtwistle..................... 18 7) Dunkenhalgh Way in Church..................... 16 7) Burnley Road in Clayton-le-Moors/ Altham.................................................................. 16
9) Manchester Road in Accrington/ Baxenden.............................................................. 13 10) Willows Lane in Accrington.................... 10 10) Henry Street in Church............................. 10 in third place with 39 incidents.
And, while not covered by our police figures, incidents on Blackburn Road have continued into 2017. In January one driver crashed into the front of a house in Oswaldtwistle and a female pedestrian was hospitalised with head injuries after a collision in Accrington on the same day.
Oswaldtwistle councillor Peter Britcliffe has called for traffic calming measures to be installed along Blackburn Road after the figures an increase in collisions every year since 2013.
He said: “I am amazed that the highways authority and the police feel that nothing further needs to be done. It’s a very dangerous road and I’m convinced there will be a tragic accident there if nothing is done.
“Incidents show from official records that Blackburn Road is the most dangerous road in Hyndburn and something really needs to be done. It’s very obvious to me and obvious to the residents of that area, and it should be equally obvious for the authorities.”
But Lancashire County Council said a previous safety investigation on Blackburn Road found ‘no pattern of incidents which suggest that we could reasonably put in place engineering measures to reduce them’.
A spokesperson said they are working with police to identify places where ‘communities are particularly concerned about speeding’ and that Blackburn Road is a site where ‘mobile speed enforcement carried out’.
The figures show that of is regularly five fatalities on our roads since 2013, two were on Hyndburn Road in Accring- ton, with one each on Whalley Road, Elton Road and Grange Street.