§ Mr. Peter BradleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proportion of(a) road accidents and (b) road accidents involving fatalities occur on country lanes; and in how many such accidents speed was identified as a major contributor factor [86057]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe national reporting system for injury road accidents does not specifically record whether an accident took place on a "country lane". However, in 1997, the most recent year for which figures are available, 5 per cent. of injury road accidents occurred on minor1, single-carriageway roads with a speed limit greater than 40 mph. Seven per cent. of fatal road accidents occurred on these roads.
Around 1 per cent. of all injury accidents and of fatal road accidents occurred on minor, single-track roads (single-lane with two-way flow) with a speed limit greater than 40 mph.
The contribution of speed to these accidents is not comprehensively recorded. However, it is estimated that speed is a contributory factor in one-third of all road accidents on all roads.
No information is available for damage-only accidents.
1For the purposes of this answer minor roads are defined as C roads and unclassified roads.