Accidents cut on busy stretch of A666 in Darwen

Accidents on one of the busiest stretches of the A666 have been cut by almost half since Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council reduced the speed limit.

The Council cut the limit between Bull Hill, near Darwen, and the Bolton boundary to 50mph in December 2003.

Statistics revealed a 45 per cent reduction in accidents between 2004-08, from 47 to 26, compared to the same period between 1999-03.

Casualties were also down by 45 per cent in the same period, from 86 to 48. Of those injuries, there was a 19 per cent reduction in people killed or seriously hurt and a 50 per cent reduction in slight injuries.

Councillor Alan Cottam, executive member for regeneration and environment, said: “It’s fantastic to see our road safety schemes working so effectively.

“The borough has few rural roads but we are keen to make those under our jurisdiction as safe as possible. Now we have made progress we will be taking positive action to ensure they remain so.

“The significant reduction in both accidents and casualties on this busy stretch of road should be celebrated and shows we made the correct decision to cut the speed limit there.”