THE number of road accidents in Ryedale has risen this year, although there has been a slight drop in the number of accidents on the A64.

Figures released by North Yorkshire County Council show that in the first six months of this year, there was a total of 12 accidents on the stretch of the A64 that runs through Ryedale, one fatal, four serious and seven slight.

In the first six months of 2008, there was one fatal accident, four serious accidents and nine slight accidents, and in for the same period in 2007, there was one fatal, , 10 serious and 16 slight.

In Ryedale, as a whole, three people died on the roads in the first six months of this year, 24 were seriously injured and 52 people were involved in slight accidents.

This compares to one death, and 17 serious injuries in the first six months of 2008.

County Councillor Clare Wood, a member of the Ryedale Area Committee at North Yorkshire County Council, said: “We seriously are the underdogs in this part of North Yorkshire and it is a great pity that more isn’t being done to improve the road between York and Scarborough.

“Let’s not forget the number of people who are being seriously injured – and that includes children.

“We all know that at every single junction on the A64 you are taking your life in your hands if you try to cross the road in your car – it is unbelievably dangerous.

“Crossing the road as a pedestrian is even more difficult.

“I know of pensioners who are so frightened to cross the road to catch a bus, they will take the bus in the wrong direction to get to a point where it is safe to cross.”

Coun Wood said that in the light of the ‘enumerable’ accidents at black spots such as Sand Hutton, Claxton, Flaxton and Barton, she would urge all concerned residents to write to the Highways Agency to voice their concerns.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire County Council, which is responsible for all the roads in Ryedale besides the A64, said that the council was working hard to reduce the number of casualties on the roads, using a mix of educational campaigns, engineering measures and by supporting North Yorkshire Police’s enforcement campaigns.

The spokesman said: “The council is not complacent and through the York and North Yorkshire Road Safety Partnership, 95 Alive, it is working hard to reduce further the number of people killed and seriously injured on the county’s roads.”