Thousands of drivers risk their lives daily on a road identified as the most dangerous in the county.

Accidents are more likely to happen on the A259 between Eastbourne and Hastings than on any other major route in Sussex, according to a new survey.

There were 43 fatal or serious collisions on the road in the three-year period surveyed, making it the 55th most dangerous in Britain. Almost one third of all accidents involved pedestrians or cyclists.

Matthew Lock, East Sussex county councillor for Hastings, said: "One thing is very clear, more people will be killed if drivers do not stop speeding and disregarding the safety of others."

The survey, compiled by the AA Motoring Trust and the European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP), gave the A259 a risk rating of 111, calculated on the number and type of accidents compared to the amount of traffic using the road.

Any route scoring higher than 100 is considered a medium-high risk for drivers, the second highest category achievable. Only one other Sussex road, a short stretch of the A229 near Hawkhurst at the Kent border, falls into the category.

The single-carriageway A259 is used by 20,000 vehicles every day and has varied speed limits up to 60mph. The survey shows it is considerably less safe than Sussex's busiest route: the A23 between Brighton and Crawley.

Despite carrying 60,000 vehicles each day, three times more than the A259, the A23 had eight fewer fatal or serious collisions in the survey period, from January 2002 and December 2004.

EuroRAP's statistics showed 60 per cent of all the A259 accidents happened outside built-up areas and 16 per cent at junctions. Pedestrians or cyclists were involved in 30 per cent of the incidents, while single vehicles had come off the carriageway in 21 per cent of occasions.

In February 2003, a 25-year-old man from Eastbourne died after his car left the road in King Offa Way, Bexhill, and ploughed into a house, seriously injuring two residents.

In October 2003, a Crowborough couple were killed when their motorcycle crashed as they approached Hastings.

EuroRAP statistician Joanna Hill said: "It is a nice coastal route and it could be the case visitors and tourists who don't know the road are contributing to the problem."

The Highways Agency, which is responsible for the road, has taken several measures to improve safety, including installing a speed camera in King Offa Way.

Sussex Police said it would not be introducing new measures to control traffic as a result of the survey.

Chief Inspector Jim Taylor, head of the road policing department, said: "There is no such thing as a dangerous road. The biggest threat to road users are those people that choose to ignore road instructions."

The survey showed an improvement in West Sussex's roads, with the A283 between Washington and Upper Beeding downgraded from a medium-high to a medium risk.

The county council said it had worked to improve the road's safety since the previous survey, which was published last year.

A spokesman said engineering work had been done at several bends, anti-skid surfacing had been laid and road markings and warning signs had been improved.

A map of the South-East major routes and their risk rating is available at www.aatrust.com