East Lindsey 'among the worst areas for serious and fatal collisions' in the country

In the constituency of Louth and Horncastle, 68 people were killed or seriously injured in crashes on roads with a 60 mph speed limit last year.

The numbers, from the Department for Transport, also show that a total of 25 people were killed or seriously injured on slower routes.

The recently published ‘Reported Road Casualties Great Britain: 2019 report’ showed that rural roads across the country continue to be the most deadly.

They account for 57% of fatalities - but only 43% of traffic.

Richard Hardesty, 47, of Louth, is a voluntary advanced driving mentor and says all motorists can take steps to keep themselves safer on the roads.

Mr Hardesty, an IAM Roadsmart National Observer and committee member for the road charity’s IAM Lincolnshire Group, believes further driving training should be as natural to us as continuous professional development.

He said: “All drivers in the UK have to take a driving test to be able to drive, with most of those taking maybe ten hours of training to prepare for their driving test.

“Drivers are taught to pass the test and then, as such, learn to drive through experience over the coming months and years.

"In a job, staff generally receive continual training opportunities throughout their careers, why should driving be any different?”

East Lindsey has the second highest rate of accidents that lead to death or serious injury out of the 40 areas that make up the East Midlands, according to Public Health England. It has the 12th highest rate in the country.

According to the figures, the district is also a hotspot for drink driving. It is second only to South Holland, in south Lincolnshire, for drink-drive incidents in the East Midlands and ranked fifth worst in the country.

Mr Hardesty, Lincolnshire commission manager for engineering professional services firm WSP, is also an advocate of the driving improvements that can result from the installation of telematics (or black boxes). Some insurance companies install black boxes to record and monitor how a motorist drives and reward good driving with reduced premiums.

Mr Hardesty says telematics have supported both his teenage son Oliver and work teams to drive with more awareness.

He said: “Telematics make drivers conscious of their actions, in that they are scored on their driving behaviours. In some cases they're also notified if they perform badly.”

Department for Transport figures show that there were 160 reported road accidents on 60 mph roads in Louth and Horncastle last year.

The majority of other reported collisions took place on routes with 30mph limits, with 101 recorded. On roads with 40mph and 50mph limits, there were 33 reported collisions.