Buxton's A5004 is named as Britain's most 'high risk' road in national study

The seven-mile rural route came 'top of the list' among 75 'persistently higher risk roads' in Britain which had an average of at least one fatal or serious crash per mile along their length during a three-year survey period.

Worryingly the study by the Road Safety Foundation - released this week - found the A5004 had the same number of fatal and serious crashes between 2015-2017 as it did in 2012- 2014 despite a slight reduction in traffic.

It continued to have an average of almost three fatal and serious crashes each year with more than a third involving head-on crashes - while all but one of these in the last three-year period involved a motorcyclist.

It read that the perilous road would be improved through the Department for Transport’s Safer Roads Fund in 2020/21.

While Derbyshire County Council will 'implement improvements to the roadside, junctions and the median along the route' and 'expects to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on the route by 33 over the following 20 years'.

During the same period in second place - after Buxton's A5004 - came the 30 miles long A3055 in the Isle of Wight with 65 fatal or serious crashes.

The third most high-risk road was the five miles long A645 near Wakefield, West Yorks., with 22 fatal or serious crashes.

The report found 4,400 fatal and serious crashes happened on these roads between 2012 and 2017.

While the associated costs of reported injury crashes between 2015 and 2017 was £1,008 million.

More than half of the crashes on two of the top 10 roads involved motorcyclists.

A Derbyshire County Council spokesman said: “The Long Hill stretch of the A5004 between Buxton and Whaley Bridge is popular with motorcyclists because of the challenging nature of the road with its multiple twists and turns.

“Of the eight crashes resulting in one death and seven serious injuries between 2015 and 2017 88 per cent involved motorcyclists and reasons for the collisions include riders being unfamiliar with the layout of the road.

"There were no accidents resulting in death or serious injury on this road in 2018.

“Last year we were awarded £2,540,000 from the Government’s Safer Roads Fund to improve road safety at this location and we are currently developing plans to put extra safety measures in place.

"These are likely to include removing a sharp bend, improving signage and road markings and installing rumble strips and average speed cameras.

"We will also be putting in BikeGuard safety barriers which prevent motorcyclists sliding under existing safety barriers.”