Road accident occur throughout the world and the problem is so severe, that it is estimated there are more than 1.5 million fatalities because of car crashes. Those injured reach more than 50 million. Although the UK has a very good transport system and road safety devices, the rate of collisions that occur on British roads is greater than in any other European country. In the UK there are thought to be 40,000 crashes per year. More than 3,500 people killed yearly, and more than 30,000 are left seriously injured. There are some roads in the UK that have the worst reputation for crashes, these being the A682 Lancs and North Yorks Border, the A54 Congleton to Buxton and the A59 Skipton to Harrogate. Recently, Devon has also entered pole position for Britain's worst roads, with car accidents increasing dramatically every year. Road crash hot spot In the West country there is one road that has a notorious reputation for horrific road accidents and severe personal injuries to motorists. This road is the A39, near Hartland in North Devon, and as the years have passed, it has taken more lives every year, not to mention witnessed a rise in accident claims. The road has claimed another victim this month, this time the crash victim was a father of two, and has become the third person in two days to die in a collision. Kevin Kendall, a 45-year-old motorcyclist 45 was killed in a crash involving two motorcycles and a car on Wednesday night, last week. A friend and former colleague Jo Cottell, 38, said Mr Kendall was 'extremely popular' and commented: "He was such a lovely bloke. He never had a bad word to say about anyone." Mr Kendall was riding a red Suzuki GSXR on the A39 at Summerville Cross. He was travelling with two other bikes- a black Ducati and a yellow Honda 600F, from the direction of Bude and heading towards Bideford. A police spokesman said: "Shortly after the West country Inn, two of the motorcycles collided with a black VW Golf waiting to turn right towards Hartland Golf and Country Club. "The riders of the Honda and Ducati were taken to North Devon District Hospital with relatively minor Injuries and were released after treatment, but the 45-year-old rider of the Suzuki died at the scene." The two women in the Golf were unharmed. Mr Kendall is the latest in a string of people killed or injured on the region's roads over the past few days. In three separate incidents yesterday, one woman sustained leg injuries in a collision near Modbury and another suffered a neck injury following a head-on crash near Cadbury in Mid-Devon, while a man was taken to hospital after his motorcycle was involved in an accident near Totnes On Thursday, an 18-year-old from Padstow, who has not yet been named, died following a three-vehicle collision at St Columb Major. On the same day, a woman died as a result of injuries she sustained in a crash on Wednesday, when a bus and a car collided on the B3297 between Helston and Redruth.
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