The A6105 in its entirety, from the A1 at Berwick to Earlston, in the Scottish Borders, is rated as being a medium to high risk road in terms of the chances of death or injury it poses to road users.

The study, by the Road Safety Foundation, is part of the European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP) which rates motorways and A-roads on how well they are designed to protect users from death or serious injury in the event of a crash and on the risk of death or serious injury.

The risk rating is calculated by comparing the frequency of death and serious injury on every stretch of road with how much traffic each road carries.

The four-miles of the A1167 from the Scremerston roundabout to the roundabout at the A1 at the top of North Road in Berwick was also rated as posing a medium-high risk from the survey period of 2005 to 2007.

These two stretches of road are among the worst rated 12 per cent in the country, described by the Road Safety Foundation as posing an 'unacceptably high risk.'

The A1, north and south of Berwick, was given a risk rating of low to medium, as was the A698 between Berwick and Coldstream.

However, the A698 from Coldstream to Jedburgh, the A6112 from Coldstream to Grantshouse, and the A697 from Morpeth to Carfraemill were rated as being medium to high risk roads.

Dr Joanne Hill, director of the Road Safety Foundation, said: "A quarter of all British rural road deaths involve hitting roadside objects.

"It is common to see unprotected steep embankments, poles or trees that have grown far too close to the road.

"A quarter die at junctions and there are simply too many junctions that do not provide protection to turning vehicles.

"About 20 per cent of road deaths occur in head-on crashes and we must study other countries which are increasing protection on higher speed roads."
The EuroRAP study, a sister programme to the EuroNCAP safety rating for cars, found that two-thirds of England's single carriageway trunk roads were worthy of only a two-star safety rating, out of a possible four.

John Dawson, chairman of EuroRAP said: "If a driver is belted, sober and obeying the speed limit, then the risk of death and injury in a 4-star car on a 4-star road is small. But most rural roads in Europe are not safe at the posted speed limit.

"Most deaths happen on busy one or two-star main single carriageway roads that need urgent investment in affordable safety line markings, safety fencing and junction layouts."