NEW statistics have revealed two key routes on the A12 north trunk road are accident blackspots - and both of these are in Lowestoft.The latest Highways Agency safety report - which lists all accidents between the Vauxhall Roundabout in Great Yarmouth and the Bascule Bridge in Lowestoft - has shown that between 2004 and 2006 there were 176 recorded accidents.

NEW statistics have revealed two key routes on the A12 north trunk road are accident blackspots - and both of these are in Lowestoft.

The latest Highways Agency safety report - which lists all accidents between the Vauxhall Roundabout in Great Yarmouth and the Bascule Bridge in Lowestoft - has shown that between 2004 and 2006 there were 176 recorded accidents.

Personal injury accident history of the route, as recorded by police has shown that during a three-year period between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2006 there were 176 recorded accidents - which equates to 58.7 accidents per year or an average of 2.99 accidents per kilometre per year.

This, however, is a decrease of 2.3 (3.7pc) accidents per year from the previous report spanning the three year period between January 1 2003 to December 31 2005.

The total number of accidents in 2006 was 56 - with no fatalities - which had slightly increased from the 53 accidents recorded in 2005, in which one person had died.

Since 1994, 18 people have died on this route - with the 2005 accident figure of 53 being the all-time lowest recorded in 12 years, and the 1994 figure of 106 accidents being the highest recorded.

Norfolk has 62pc of the route length - with 52pc of the accidents; while Suffolk has 38pc of the route length - with 48pc of the accidents.

Suffolk has the higher severity index with 15.5pc - just under the 16pc average for all trunk roads. Assessing these figures for the Lowestoft area stretch for three years, between 2004 to 2006, the following areas recorded PIAs (Personal Injury Accidents):

Link Road Roundabout to Hopton Roundabout - 5

Hopton Roundabout - 2

Hopton Roundabout to Rackhams Roundabout - 7

The document has been prepared in partnership between the Managing Agent (Atkins Highways &Transportation based in offices at Great Blakenham in Suffolk) and Ranjit Mistry, the A12 North Route Performance Manager based at the Highways Agency's office in Bedford and complements the Area Safety Action Plan produced for 2006/07.