FATAL accidents on North Yorkshire's roads went up 12 per cent last year - and many of those involved motorcyclists.

Figures released for 2002 show that 32 of the 84 people killed on the county's roads were involved in motorbike accidents. In 2001, 25 of the 75 deaths were bike-related.

North Yorkshire County Council released the statistics this week as part of a report into road accidents and casualties in the region.

The rising toll of motorcycle deaths prompted the Evening Press to re-launch its Arrive Alive campaign last summer in an effort to highlight the dangers and cut the carnage.

A table of accident blackspots shows that the Bilbrough Top junction on the A64 is the worst in the county, with 20 of the most severe accidents happening there over the last three years.

Mike Moore, director of environmental services at the county council, said Bilbrough Top was classed as a high risk location.

The Evening Press has been campaigning since the late 1990s for a gap in the central reservation at Bilbrough Top to be closed.

Numerous accidents have involved motorists passing through the gap and colliding with vehicles heading along the dual carriageway.

The gap is finally set to be closed later this month when work starts on building a new flyover nearby.

Mr Moore said £200,000 had been allocated as part of a programme of road safety schemes, and the accident table would form the basis of decisions about which sites should be prioritised, he said.

The list will be forwarded to the Highways Agency for their comments on completed and planned proposals aimed at addressing the accident problems on trunk road sites.

Mr Moore said two specific campaigns were to be undertaken over the next two years to improve road safety in the county.

North Yorkshire Police would receive funding to resource their motorcycle campaign, 'Handle it or lose it'.

Specialist road policing officers would work on targeted enforcement, working throughout the 2003 to 2004 motorcycle season.

Money would also be spent on improving the child seat belt rate to at least 95 percent.

At the moment figures for the school run showed as few as 73 percent of children were wearing seatbelts.

Mr Moore said the campaign would involve a programme of activities about school car journeys.

Targeted enforcement would be supported with publicity and education work, set to focus on an initial 20 schools this summer, he added.

Updated: 10:37 Monday, June 09, 2003