A new assessment of the safety of Irish roads has found that single lane carriageways are up to ten times more dangerous than motorways.
The analysis also found that 12% of Irish roads could be classified as being of medium to high, or high risk.
The statistical analysis is part of the European Road Assessment Programme, a Europe-wide analysis of the safety standards of roads networks carried out in this country by the AA.
The study found that Irish single carriageways continue to prove a significant risk, accounting for 11.5 fatal crashes for every billion kilometres of road driven.
That is nearly five deaths more per billion kilometres than in Sweden. 90% of fatal collisions on Irish roads happen on such single carriageways.
The number of collisions on single carriageways is six times the number on motorways and double the rate on dual carriageways.
The six highest risk roads in the country are the N53 Dundalk to Castleblaney road, the N55 from Granard to Edgeworthstown, the N52 from Mullingar to Tyrellspass, the N54 from Clones to Monaghan, the N78 from Athy to Newtown and the N75 from Thurles to the N8.
Together they account for 96km of high risk road. There are 26 sections of medium-high risk carriageways, which together account for 465km.
Launching the report, the Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, said driver behaviour, and not the roads themselves, still remains the biggest factor in road accidents.
However, while also acknowledging the risk posed by poor driving behaviour, AA Public Affairs Manager Conor Faughnan said we must find ways of making single carriageways more forgiving.
He added more crash barriers, 2+1 carriageways, improved junctions and better enforcement are all required to improve safety on single carriageways.
The findings of the analysis were also welcomed by the National Roads Authority and the Northern Ireland Roads Service.
