The public are to be consulted on a plan to improve safety on a West Devon road which is one of the most dangerous rural stretches in the region.

The police confirmed last week that the A386 Dartmoor section between Woolwell, Plymouth and Yelverton is being redesigned under a draft plan aimed at reducing fatal and other serious injury collisions.

One of the proposals is to reduce the 60mph limit governing most of the road to 40mph.

Two deaths, both motorbike riders, occurred last year in two separate accidents and only last week, Friday, June 5, another motorbike rider was seriously hurt in a crash on this stretch. Many of the collisions are linked to the busiest junctions.

The review has come about as part of Devon County Council highways authority and police monitoring the latest road traffic statistics. Most of the most serious accidents have happened on the stretch on Roborough Common.

A spokesperson for Devon County Council said: “We regularly review road safety data with the police. The A386 has been identified as a ‘high harm’ road, with two fatal, 11 serious and 22 slight collisions recorded over the past five years. It has one of the highest rates of collision on rural A-roads across Devon and Cornwall.

“There was also a further serious collision involving a motorbike last Friday, and our thoughts are with everyone affected.

“We are developing proposals for a reduced 40mph speed limit on sections of the route and are currently designing the scheme.

“A traffic regulation order is expected to be published in the autumn. This will give people the opportunity to share their views through a formal consultation process.”

Feedback from the public will help decide whether the scheme goes ahead and in what form.