LESSONS in safety for drivers living near a notorious Somerset road were held this week.

LESSONS in safety for drivers living near a notorious Somerset road were held this week.

Residents in Compton Bishop and Cross, villages near the A38, signed up to a workshop to learn how to avoid accidents on rural roads and the importance of driving carefully.

The workshops are being run by Somerset Road Safety Partnership (SRSP) with parish councils which are interested in the project.

The A38 is one of 10 roads which have the most collisions and 60 per cent of road casualties in the county were from accidents on the A38.

SRSP spokesman David Gollicker said: "We want to teach people why collisions happen and what contributes to problem driving.

"There is only so much engineers can do in designing roads, there is no such thing as a dangerous road, only dangerous drivers.

"You see people breaking while they are turning a corner when they should be breaking before they reach it. If simple precautions are not taken, accidents will happen."

More than 25 people signed up to the workshop in Cross Memorial Hall which was held on Tuesday night.

Compton Bishop Parish Council chairman Eddie Farley said: "We had a range of people sign up, including one young lad who only passed his test last week. We had a wide variety of age ranges wanting to take part.

"We are quite keen on the driver safety front, without a doubt."

The notorious road stretches for 55km along the county and 57 parish councils have been invited to hold a workshop, but Compton Bishop was one of the first.

David Gollicker added: "The workshop is not about pressuring people. We discuss different road situations. We want to educate people and make them safer drivers to reduce the number of accidents on the A38.