8:00am Monday 8th February 2010
By Paul Broome
TWO major routes through Herefordshire have been rated among the worst in the country for road safety.
The county’s main road, the A49, and the M50, which runs through the south-east of the county, are among 22 British roads causing concern, according to a study by the Road Safety Foundation.
The roads were rated on how well their design protects users from death or serious injury when a crash occurs.
Factors taken into account are the level of protection cars have if they run off the road, the risk of head-on collisions and safety at junctions.
Dr Joanne Hill, director of the foundation, said single carriageways lack most safety features that would protect road users.
“Head-on collisions are prevented only by road markings,” she said.
“Where road sections have junctions, few layouts rate well.”
The stretches of the A49 between Ross and Hereford and the route from Leominster to Shrewsbury were among those with the lowest safety rating for single carriageways.
The M50 received one of the lowest average ratings for motorways.
Last October the A44 between Leominster and Worcester was rated as the eighth most dangerous road in the world by the Association for Safe International Road Travel.
■ Meanwhile, new signs designed to help drivers pinpoint where they are should they break down are being put up along the M50.
The signs, located 500 metres apart, display a letter telling emergency services which direction they are travelling, and a figure representing how far along the motorway the vehicle is.
It is hoped the emergency services and Highways Agency patrols can reach stranded drivers quicker in an emergency if they give these details.
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