Car crash deaths and injuries on the 10 most improved roads in Britain fell by 74% saving £17m, according to the Road Safety Foundation.
It says dramatic reductions in accidents were achieved through simple steps such as improving signing and road markings, creating safe pedestrian crossings and setting appropriate speed limits.
The foundation says the Safer Roads Fund launched last year triggered action by many local authorities including projects to improve roadsides and junctions and provide pedestrian facilities on high-risk routes.
But it warns that further urgent action is needed to cut road accidents as the cost of crashes is increasing across most of Britain and only 1% of road sections improved during a recent survey.
It has created an interactive Road Crash Index showing how counties rank in recent safety improvement and to find out the cost of road crashes in the area.
According to its analysis, the South East of England is now the most dangerous region where risks have risen by nearly 10%.
The most improved road in the survey was a stretch of the A4151 in Gloucestershire where crashes were reduced by nearly 90% through 'simple attention to road engineering detail'.