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Map of road deaths

Crash scene
Crash scene

Stay away from the M20 around Hollingbourne and keep off the A26 through Wateringbury and Barming if you want to stay alive.

That would be a conclusion quickly drawn from a new map showing road accident fatalities and injuries across Britain, between 2001 and 2010.

The ITO World map, which uses government accident statistics, shows the age and types of deaths seen on our roads.

There have been eight deaths around the Hollingbourne section of the M20.

The A26, which has been the subject of a speed campaign, emerges as one of Maidstone’s most dangerous roads, aside from the motorway, with nine deaths, between Maidstone and Wateringbury.

Those who lost their lives were aged between seven and 80.

They include pensioner Joyce Denning, 80, hit by a car while crossing the road at Teston in 2006 and Brian Robinson, 63, a passenger in a car which left the road and crashed, after being driven by a drunk-driver.

The spot where Shirley Leedham, 70, died on the A20 in Harrietsham in 2008, in a hit and run incident is also marked.

The map is likely to prove invaluable to speed campaigners, who are often asked by the highway authority to provide evidence of why changes are needed.

There were also a number of deaths on the M20 in the Ryarsh area, and Seven Mile Lane appears also to be an accident blackspot.

A number of injuries are logged for the A229 near Staplehurst and the A274 near Headcorn, but fortunately those villages have seen few fatalities.

The map’s launch coincided with The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims organised by the campaign group RoadPeace.

The group’s executive director Amy Aeron-Thomas said: "The map shows how urban crashes are concentrated along main roads, highlighting the need for slower speeds on these key routes."

The map can be viewed on http://map.itoworld.com/roadcasualties-uk

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