The Government has pledged a £38.3m funding boost to improve the safety of 17 of the most high-risk roads in England.

The funding will deliver safety improvements on some 120 miles of roads across England

The investment is being made under round three of the Safer Roads Fund and will deliver safety improvements on some 120 miles of roads across England, from Durham and North Yorkshire, to Devon and East Sussex.

The funding comes on top of the £147.5m already invested to deliver life-saving improvements on 82 high-risk roads across England. Over a 20-year period, this funding will see significant reductions in fatal and serious injuries, up to as much as a 30.8% reduction on some roads.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “Britain’s roads are some of the safest in the world, but we are always looking at ways to help keep drivers and all road users safe.

“As part of the Government’s plan to improve roads across the country, we’re providing an extra £38m so that local councils in England have the support they need to keep everyone safe while reducing congestion and helping to grow the economy.”

The Road Safety Foundation (RSF) says all tranches of the Safer Road Fund will save nearly 2,600 fatal and serious injuries over the next 20 years.

Dr Suzy Charman, executive director of RSF, said: “We can design roads so that when crashes happen people can walk away – by clearing or protecting roadsides, putting in cross hatching to add space between vehicles, providing safer junctions like roundabouts or adding signalisation and/or turning pockets, and including facilities for walking and cycling.”

Steve Gooding, director at the RAC Foundation, said: “The Safer Roads Fund is the hugely welcome gift that keeps on giving because today’s announcement means another 120 miles of safer road improvements will be delivered to the benefit of users. Such incremental improvements are key to achieving our collective aim for a safer road network as a whole.”

Nick Butler, director at Drivetech, also commented: “The Government’s announcement of a £38.3m investment to improve road safety on 17 of the country’s high-risk roads is hugely welcome. Dedicating funds to increasing the safety of our roads and road users is a key factor in preventing road deaths. Each and every fatality that occurs on our roads is preventable and we all have a part to play in ensuring these numbers reach zero. But we need a need a holistic and ongoing approach to increasing safety on our roads, one that includes government, drivers, and businesses.

“The latest Department for Transport provisional figures on reported road casualties in Great Britain for the year ending June 2023 are a stark reminder of the reality we face. There were 29,429 killed or seriously injured casualties, a decline of 1% year-on-year. That was made up of an estimated 1,633 fatalities. That’s 1,633 people who didn’t return home to their families, whose deaths could have been prevented.

“As well as the infrastructure improvements set to come from the Safer Roads Fund, we need to see continued investment from across the board in education and awareness campaigns to ensure safe driving is front of mind. We also urge drivers and businesses to take a proactive approach to driver training and not overlook its importance when it comes to making a measurable difference to road safety. With around a third of road deaths involving someone driving for work, businesses can make a real difference through fostering a culture of safety and responsibility on our roads. Driver training is central to this. It helps ensure drivers are equipped with safe driving techniques, as well as promoting driver confidence and wellbeing, all of which reduces risk on the road.”

The 17 roads receiving funding from the Safer Roads Fund round 3, 2023 to 2024, tranche are:

Road    Local authority           Funding

A579   Bolton Council           £1,425,000

A676   Bolton Council           £1,025,000

A432   Bristol Council           £2,275,000

A361   Devon County Council           £5,040,000

A690   Durham County Council        £2,940,000

A19     Doncaster City Council          £2,960,000

A19     North Yorkshire County Council        £2,960,000

A113   Essex County Council            £3,600,000

A6       Lancashire County Council    £4,540,000

A6       North Northamptonshire County Council      £2,200,000

A60     Nottingham City Council       £2,225,000

A6200 Nottingham City Council       £600,000

A420   Oxfordshire County Council £2,225,000

A5191 Shropshire Council     £650,000

A2101 East Sussex County Council   £875,000

A583   Lancashire County Council    £1,497,180

A41     Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council         £1,265,000