THREE of the worst roads in Lincolnshire for motorbike accidents run through the East Coast area.

The A52, A16 and A158 have all been named as potential deathtraps for motorcyclists last year according to new data release by the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership (LRSP).

The data highlights the 12 worst roads in the county for 2008 but it isn't all bad news for our local roads.

The A157, which runs between Strubby and Withern, was included in the 2007 list of the county's worst roads after three people died or were seriously injured but it was dropped in 2008 as the number of accidents fell.

The worst route in the county where motorcyclists died or were seriously injured was the A52, which runs north from Skegness to Mablethorpe and down towards Boston, with five incidents occurring during 2008.

On the A16 three people died or were seriously injured and two on the A158 putting them 3rd and 8th in the list.

2008's top 12 routes will now be subject to special attention by the LRSP in an attempt to reduce the number of motorbike casualties on these roads.

Partnership spokesman Brian Burns said: "One of our main goals is to reduce the number of motorcycle riders being seriously injured or indeed losing their lives.

"We will now change our focus to encompass the new roads which have been highlighted."

He added: "We are very pleased that our hard work has paid off to bring numbers down, which shows we are doing something right.

"What we don't want to do is alienate the biking society; we still want people to enjoy their motorcycles but in a sensible way."

The reduction in the number of casualties has been put down to Operation Stealth – which stands for Specifically Targeted Enforcement Against Law-breaking Two-wheeled, High-end offenders. This ran from April to October.

During the campaign, police upped road patrols, and they are taking a zero tolerance approach to speeding and reckless riders from now until October.

The campaign was launched in a bid to cut the number of motorcyclists who flout the law.

The partnership's acting head of casualty reduction Sergeant Dave Kay said: "Too often motorcyclists take unnecessary risks and for a few it ends in tragic but avoidable consequences.

"But this campaign does seem to have made a difference to road users."

The campaign is set to be relaunched this year, but final details are still being ironed out, he said.