Main roads in Wales managed by Welsh Government are the most dangerous in Britain, says the Road Safety Foundation.
Comparing the British regions with Scotland/Wales, average risk on the strategic ‘A’ road network is highest in Wales.
On Welsh roads there are 23 fatal and serious crashes per billion vehicle km travelled.
Wales also has the widest spread of costs to individuals involved in crashes.
The economic cost of serious road crashes per capita ranges nearly five-fold across Britain from the lowest in Wales at £211 in Caerphilly area to the highest in Wales at £988 in Powys.
The RSF says the situation could be improved within a generation if stricter standards were applied by Welsh Government.
“Travelling on our road system could be made as safe as on rail and air within a generation,” said Road Safety Foundation, and sponsored by Ageas UK.
The same systematic approach to measuring and managing risks needs to be applied to roads as that taken by industries ranging from medicine to mining as well as aviation and rail. Road deaths are now 10 times greater than all deaths in all workplaces added together.
Not a single rail passenger or worker has been killed over the last nine consecutive years, while commercial airline travel is even safer than rail.
On highways, there is greater discipline protecting road workers from risks than the general public using them.
