Every year, there are fatal road accidents all throughout the United Kingdom: about 1,700 annually. But where in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland is the safest, and where are the most dangerous roads in the UK? The deadliest motorways aren’t always in the cities; they may not be where you think!
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We’ve compiled the data and calculated the number of fatal car accidents per 10,000 residents to figure out where the deadliest roads in the UK really are.
Here’s the list of the top five most deadly highways in the United Kingdom, if you only consider the number of traffic fatalities on each road:
- A6: 70 fatalities
- A5: 67 fatalities
- A40: 65 fatalities
- A38: 59 fatalities
- A1: 59 fatalities
These might be the most fatal UK roads, but they’re also some of the longest. When you compare fatalities to the total miles, the figures are quite low: The most dangerous road in the UK is the A6, but it only has 0.248 fatalities per mile.
Another way to look at the data is to compare the fatalities to the estimated population of each council area to find the most dangerous roads. In UK cities like London and Edinburgh, that rate is actually quite low.
Here are the deadliest areas of the country for traffic fatalities:
- For England, the deadliest county is Rutland, at a rate of 5.181 fatalities per 10,000 residents.
- For Wales, it’s Powys, with a rate of 4.312.
- For Northern Ireland, the deadliest district is Fermanagh & Omagh, with a rate of 4.150.
- For Scotland, it’s the Orkney Islands, with a rate of 4.110.
In these areas are some of the most dangerous motorways the UK has to offer, statistically speaking. This is different than the worst roads by number of complaints. It’s better to complain than be killed in an accident on one of the United Kingdom’s worst roads!