Cumbria's most dangerous roads are revealed today - the routes where nearly 430 serious or fatal crashes have happened in five years.

Figures from the files of the county's police force show the A595 is the road where the most people have been killed or badly hurt up to the turn of this year.

This is followed by the A66 and then the A6, with dozens of people losing their lives or suffering serious injury on each busy route during this time.

A Freedom of Information request to Cumbria Police breaks down the tragic toll across the county, with key rural routes or fast-moving roads figuring most prominently in the data.

But police, council officials and those who ply their trade on the roads all point to driver behaviour as the key cause of the crashes that have destroyed families.

Our special report shows speeding, drink driving, using mobile phones and simply not leaving enough distance between vehicles are all considered major factors.

Ian Bell, who runs Ian Bell School of Motoring in Workington, said: “There’s no such thing as bad roads - just bad drivers.

“The fact that the A595 and the A66 come up top doesn’t surprise me.

“The A595 carries a lot of lorries and people overtake in areas that aren’t really suitable. "

Mr Bell, 57, has been driving since 1977 and has been an instructor for the last 11 years.

He added: “People don’t leave enough time to get from A to B and so they rush and make mistakes.

“Unfortunately, it’s often the innocent party that comes off worse.”

Chief Inspector Andy Wilkinson works with the Cumbria Police operational support unit.
Chief Inspector Andy Wilkinson

He said: “Many collisions are entirely avoidable.

"They are caused by driver behaviour, manner of driving, speeding and distraction including the use of mobile phones and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

"All road users are morally and legally responsible for the safety of all road users, including themselves."

There were 78 crashes classed as fatal or causing serious injuries on the A595 - which runs from north to south Cumbria, via the west of the county - during the five year period.

The A66, running west to east, was the setting for 65 tragedies or bad injury collisions.

The A6, which takes drivers south from Carlisle, had 61 of these type of crashes.

The A590, running through the south of the county, registered 55 serious or fatal crashes.

A spokesman for Keith's Driving School, in Barrow, placed the blame firmly with motorists.

"It's just down to bad driving," he said.

"People don't drive to the conditions.

"If the speed limit is 60mph then it doesn't mean you can always do 60mph.

"The A590 is a long road so it doesn't surprise me that there are a high number of accidents on there."

A Cumbria County Council spokesman said: “It is sadly no surprise that most of these type of incidents occur on rural roads, or on roads with high volumes of fast moving traffic.

"The primary cause of collisions is driver behaviour and these figures are in line with other counties that have a comparable road network to Cumbria."

Chief Insp Wilkinson said the force was part of a road safety partnership, which was made up of various agencies across the county.

They, he added, worked together throughout the year to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads.

Chief Insp Wilkinson said: "The constabulary’s operational support unit consists of highly trained and experienced officers who work to prevent serious and fatal road traffic collisions every day.

“As part of this work, officers conduct regular road safety operations and campaigns, along with partner agencies, to ensure that motorists are informed of any new legislation and key advice.

“The constabulary will also proactively seek to find and support any new initiative which makes the county’s roads safer for motorists.”

John Clifford, 43, a driving instructor with Eclipse Driver Training in Carlisle, said the figures came as no suprise.


Driving instructor John Clifford, from Eclipse Driver Training. He said: “It doesn’t surprise me that the A595 and A66 are high on the list.

“The problem is the way people drive, rather than the road itself.

“The biggest issue is people travelling too close. They don’t leave a minimum of a two second gap on a dry day or four seconds on a wet day.

"Leaving a gap of three to six seconds would make no difference to a journey time.

“There’s no such thing as a bad road - just bad drivers."

He added: “People drive too close to wagons. They don’t allow space.

“We always find out about people dying on the roads but we never really find out what the cause was.

"I think there should be more information about that.”

The council spokesman said the authority worked hard to make sure the county's roads were safe.

He said a multi-agency group known as CRASH included Cumbria Highways and Cumbria Police.

The spokesman added: "Their objective is to reduce fatal or serious incidents by identifying improvements to make roads safer, communicating road safety advice, facilitating driver training and safety camera enforcement.

“The county council, alongside Highways England, is responsible for road safety across the highways network in Cumbria.

"Local residents have a number of options to make suggestions, or provide feedback.

"Highways teams routinely monitor traffic flows and accident rates on all priority routes throughout the county.

"This data is collated and analysed annually and used to inform decision making about a variety of traffic calming and road safety measures – including signage, speed limits and speed bumps.

"Local people can email, call or write to the Cumbria Highways team to highlight their speed limit and road safety concerns."

Full details are available on the county council website or by calling 0300 303 2992.


Those figures in full - the roads and number of serious or fatal collisions

A595..........

78

A66...........

65

A6.............

61

A590..........

55

M6.............

49

A596..........

40

A591..........

39

A592..........

24

A65...........

18


More than 160 drivers caught using mobile phones - despite toughening up of law

Using mobile phones while driving is one of the menaces named by police as a danger.

Figures issued by Cumbria Police show 165 penalties were dished out in five months this year - despite a toughening up of the law.

In March, penalties doubled to to six points and £200 following the revamp of legislation.

But police say the number of notices issued show people are still indulging in risky driving.

Drivers caught by police since the law change have included a cabbie and a tractor driver.

It is illegal to use a hand-held phone or similar device while driving or riding a motorcycle.

This includes using a mobile phone to follow a map, read a text or while queueing in traffic.

Motorists can only use a handheld phone if they are safely parked or need to call 999 or the alternative 112 in an emergency - and it's unsafe or impractical to stop.


Tens of thousands caught speeding

Nearly 39,000 drivers were caught speeding in Cumbria in a year.

Exclusive figures obtained by CN Group showed that 38,627 motorists flouted the law and broke the speed limit in 2015.

Police said the figures were “disappointing”, while speed campaigners calling for motorists to slow down described them as “absolutely atrocious”.


Generations hit by tragedy on A595

One of the most tragic cases in recent years saw a young boy seriously injured - and his mother and great-mother lost their lives.

Logan Murdoch, of Morton, Carlisle, was serious injured in the horrific collision on the A595 at Newby Cross, near Carlisle, on February 23 last year.
Logan Murdoch

But he made a miraculous recovery thanks to the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS), which rushed to the scene and airlifted the youngster to hospital.

His mother Hayley Murdoch, 29, and great-grandmother Sheila Dixon, 70, sadly died at the scene.

Sheila’s husband, Jonah Dixon, 74, was also seriously injured and will never walk unaided again.

Logan, his dad John Murdoch and his grandmother Karen Rooney recently visited the GNAAS's Langwathby base to hand over £4,260 in memory of Hayley and Sheila.