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Lincolnshire's roads 'create problems'

Police say that the low amount of dual carriageway in Lincolnshire, where six people died last week in a crash between two lorries and a minibus, could account for the high number of casualties on the county's roads.

It is believed the crash, on the A52 near Grantham, happened when a minibus was overtaking an oil tanker and a lorry and collided head on with another HGV travelling in the opposite direction.

Dick Holmes, of Lincolnshire Police, said the nature of the county's roads arguably made crashes more likely than in other parts of the country. "One of the main things that seems to be a problem is that we have no motorways and very few miles of dual carriageway," he said.

"Statistically dual carriageways and motorways are safer roads to travel on - logic dictates if there were more dual carriageways there would be fewer serious collisions. You can't say that for certain, but all the indications elsewhere in the country suggest that."

Mr Holmes said a series of initiatives from the police and the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership had made people realise the dangers of irresponsible driving and had cut the number of deaths from the high of 104 during 2003.

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