Cat & Fiddle ranked UK’s ‘most persistently’ dangerous road

And 66% of the crashes involve motorcycles, according to report

THE A537 ‘Cat and Fiddle’ run from Macclesfield to Buxton is the UK’s most persistently dangerous road according to a report.

The popular motorcycling route between Cheshire and Derbyshire saw 44 fatal and serious crashes between 2007 and 2011, according to the report by the European Road Assessment Programme. Two-thirds of the crashes on the 12-mile stretch of road – 66% - involved motorcycles, according to the report.

The report ranks it as the highest-risk road in the North West and ‘also the UK’s most persistently higher-risk road’.

A network of rear-facing average-speed cameras, designed to catch motorcyclists, was installed on the route in 2010.

Motorcycles feature heavily in the UK's top four ranked persistently higher risk roads. The A5012 from Pikehall to Matlock saw 25 fatal and serious crashes from 2007 to 2011, with 76% involving motorcycles.

The A682 from Junction 13 of the M65 to Long Preston saw 24 fatal and serious crashes in the same period, 75% involving bikes. On the A621 from Baslow to Totley, there were 15 fatal and serious crashes, with 67% involving motorcycles.