Bedford's A5141 named the worst stretch of main road in the East of England for accidents

Bedford's A5141 has been named THE most hazardous stretch of main road (A-roads and motorways) in the East of England, according to Government figures.

Between 2014 and 2018, there were 47.4 accidents causing casualties, per mile. And figures show serious crashes are more likely to happen on a Friday between 5pm and 6pm with drivers more likely to be male, aged between 26 and 35.

And while the number of accidents causing death or injury has fallen by a sixth in the past five years, road safety charity Brake has said more should be done to catch and punish dangerous drivers.

A spokesperson for road safety charity Brake said there were steps drivers could take to prevent accidents, such as slowing down, not using mobile phones when driving and getting their eyesight tested regularly.

But the spokesperson also said there needs to be “greater investment in road traffic enforcement so that people who do drive dangerously and break the law, endangering themselves and all other road users, are caught and punished”.

The Department of Transport said allocation of crime-fighting resources is a matter for chief constables, in conjunction with police and crime commissioners.

The department said that busier roads will have a higher number of accidents but that “vital improvements” were being made to the road networks.

A spokesperson said: “We are committed to improving road safety across the country, and the Safer Roads Fund will provide vital improvements to the 50 most dangerous stretches of road in England.

“In addition, we launched a Road Safety Action Plan last year which set out more than 70 measures to reduce the number of people killed and injured on our roads.”