The reason why an otherwise unremarkable 13-mile stretch of rural road is such an accident blackspot is simple: motorcyclists love it. With its smooth bends and picturesque scenery, the A537 is a favourite haunt of those looking for a challenging and thrilling ride. Of 22 fatal or serious accidents on the road between 2001 and 2003, all but two involved motorcyclists.

Elsewhere, motorcyclists account for 1% of total traffic and 21% of those killed or seriously injured on British roads.

For car drivers, the riskiest route is the A59 across the Yorkshire Dales from Skipton to Harrogate. Motorists regularly travel at up to 90mph on the long straight single carriageway and come to grief at one of dozens of junctions, giving it by far the highest crash rate for cars and vans.

According to the AA, the A59 was the scene of 43 serious or fatal accidents between 2000 and 2003. Once the level of traffic is taken into account, the A59’s casualty rate was 145 deaths and serious injuries per billion kilometres driven.

The Department for Transport defends the overall safety of British roads, saying that there were 6.1 road deaths per 100,000 head of population in 2003, the most recent statistics available. This compares with 8.5 in Germany and 13.8 in France. The UK rate was substantially lower than Japan’s (7.9 per 100,000 population), Australia (9) and the United States (14.8). ()

While 6.1 deaths may sound small by international standards, there are times of the day when road users are at much greater risk. One is at about 8am as motorists set off for work and school. During the hour that follows 360 people — almost a tenth of all serious casualties — are killed or badly injured annually.

The numbers drop after 9am, then begin to rise around midday, reaching a peak between 5pm and 6pm, an hour that claimed 876 serious casualties over the course of a year, or on average just over three road users in that period every day.

Additional reporting: Hunter Skipworth

Dodging bullets in ambush alley

Hala Jaber is at constant risk of attack on the airport road out of Baghdad

For foreigners there is only one way into Baghdad — and there is only one way out. It is along the six-mile stretch of road that connects Baghdad international airport with the green zone, the fortified government and military quarter in the heart of the city. It is, by some distance, the most terrifying road in the world.

I’ve driven it so many times I’ve lost count. Or it could be that I have been so scared that my mind blanks it out.

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