Cats fiddle while motorcyclists die.

Improvements to a dangerous road in Britain have reduced serious collisions there by almost 75 percent over a three-year period, but lower speed limits on another road have not had a good effect.

The most dangerous road in England, the Cat and Fiddle, is still a killer despite some speed reduction measures.

The A40 from Llandovery to Carmarthen was named the most-improved road in the U.K. after improvements were made to junctions and markings, and the road was repaved with high-friction material. The number of serious crashes fell from 27 in the three-year period of 2003–2005 before the improvement program to seven in the three years after the fix-up.

The Road Safety Foundation has suggested that such improvements could save lives on other roads and are relatively inexpensive when compared to medical and other costs resulting from collisions.

The A537 "Cat and Fiddle" road from Macclesfield, Cheshire, to Buxton, Derbyshire, is a popular ride for motorcyclists, but is a crasher. The number of fatal and serious collisions on that road escalated from 15 in the 2003–2005 period to 34 in the three years from 2006–2008. Speed reduction measures haven't worked, apparently, but the kind of improvements made to the A40 have not been done on the Cat and Fiddle, where sharp turns, drop-offs, and stone walls are abundant.

The Road Safety Foundation's report points out that if motorcyclists are excluded from the data, the most dangerous road in Britain is not the Cat and Fiddle, but the A18 in North East Lincolnshire.