WHETHER it is roads that are dangerous, or the drivers who use them is always a matter for debate, but statistics tell their own stories.

The A19 through the northern half of North Yorkshire has a woeful accident record. A Highways England report found it has three times more gaps in the central reservation than a typical dual carriageway.

The same study identified 17 gaps where the optimal solution was closure and another 39 where safety improvements would be appropriate.

It is a dreadful shame that it took the death of 83-year-old Sonia Rose in a crash at the Stony Lane gap near Osmotherley for these recommendations to be drawn up, but congratulations to Mrs Rose’s family for their campaign pushing for safety work to be done.

Highways England says future work will be subject to funding and consultation with people living in the areas involved, particularly farmers who use the gaps to go about their everyday business.

The communities who live and work around the A19 must of course have a say in what happens to the gaps, but the overriding concern must be the safety of motorists.

Too many people have had their lives changed by either being involved in a crash on that stretch of road, or seeing the aftermath. And far too many families have suffered the same awful loss as that experiences by the loved ones of Mrs Rose.

The sooner the safety work can be carried out, the better.