Scotland- Most dangerous part in UK to drive!
Always known to be in the good books, Scotland has now been known for its dangerously bad driving roads. According to charity Road Safety Foundation, Scotland is the most dangerous place to drive in Britain. With a higher proportion of killer roads north of the Border compared to other regions, Scotland was given the highest risk rating followed by north-west England and Yorkshire.
Five roads including a stretch of A86 south of Kingussie, the A97 near Huntly and the A6088 at Hawick due to its possibility for fatal or serious collision that is more than 15 times higher than the lowest risk roads have been Branded “high risk” for Scots. The reports that covered 28,000 miles detailed that almost one-third of all accidents and crashes occurred in Scotland junctions and it has highest risk highways.
Dr, Joanne Hill, the Road Safety Foundation director wants the council to spend more on the safety on most dangerous stretches of roads than paying for emergency services and hospitals. She had also said that when the road budget was getting tighter they need to give more emphasis on saving lives with less amounts- low cost, high-return counter measures.
Single carriageways were found to be six times more risky to motorists than motorways and also drivers were found seven times riskier on major roads than minor ones. A 5% reduction in the number of fatal accidents has been seen in the recent years.
- Improved road- A40 between Llandovery and Carmarthen
- Safest region- West Midlands
The Cat and Fiddle, A537, has met with fatal and serious collisions which rose from 15 within three years, 2005 and 34 between 2006 and 2008. Most crashes were seen to be happening during the summer in dry and daylight conditions.
Promoting Endangered species- ‘Highland tiger’ through stamp
With less than 400 Scottish wildcat remaining in the wild and barely a handful in the captive breeding population, Royal Mail director of Scottish affairs, Ian McKay have produced a new stamp featuring the endangered animal of UK, thereby aiming to highlight the plight of these species.
Known to be the Tiger of the Highlands, these Scottish wildcats may look a little like your pet cat but these are incredibly the toughest super predators that are completely untameable even when captive reared.
Seasaidh, a three year old Scottish wildcat from Highland Wildlife Park, near Kincraig, Kingussie had been taken to help to launch the stamp. Featuring the British animals that are at the point of extinction, the first class stamp is one among the 10 that is part of a series that is produced by the Royal Mail to celebrate the International Year of Biodiversity in 2010.
Threatened by interbreeding with domestic cats, the survival of the wildcats is at stake. To Conserve the wildcat population, many associations have also come up to the rescue like The Scottish wildcat association which is carrying out a wide range of campaigns and fund-raising for captive breeding programmes and general awareness.