When Vera Burgess left her Barnet home to go shopping she had no idea it would be for the last time.

When Vera Burgess left her Barnet home to go shopping she had no idea it would be for the last time.

Just hours later the frail 83-year-old widow was dead ,, hit by a sports car while crossing a busy road near her home.

The accident, on January 13 this year, confirmed the worst fears of friends and neighbours. They said it had only been a matter of time before someone was killed in Barnet Lane. Neighbour Peter Jagel told the Barnet & Potters Bar Times: 'They come down that road like bats out of hell. There ought to be traffic calming there.'

Those who knew Vera Burgess might not be surprised to learn that Barnet Lane, a so-called 'rat run' connecting Underhill with Totteridge, is the third worst accident black spot in the borough. Figures published by the Times group this week show there were 44 accidents in the road in just three years, including one involving a pedestrian.

The top-ten black spots are spread across the borough but mainly feature some of the larger trunk roads. Only one, the junction between Edgware's High Street and Station Road, is the responsibility of Barnet Council. The rest come under the control of Transport for London (TfL), a wing of the newly-created Greater London Assembly.

Top of the danger list is the Staples Corner roundabout, linking the M1 and North Circular in Brent Cross, with 76 accidents between 1997 and 1999. The notorious North Circular appears four times in the top ten.

The statistics, compiled by the London Accident Analysis Unit (AAU), will make sobering reading for people living near black spots, as well as of thousands of drivers and pedestrians who use them daily. Between 1990 and 1999, 124 motorists have been killed on the borough's roads. A further 59 pedestrians have died over that same period.

Last year 15 motorists died ,, a ten-year high ,, in 1,582 recorded incidents, some 220 were deemed serious by the AAU. And six pedestrians were killed in some 327 accidents on Barnet's roads.

Councillor Allan Turner, Barnet's cabinet member for the environment, believes road traffic accidents have decreased significantly over the past decade.

'The figures for last year show a marked improvement which would indicate that moves made by the council to combat road accidents are proving effective,' he said. 'Also, the figures for serious pedestrian accidents have fallen to just 62 last year compared to 119 in 1990.'

Mr Turner believes long-term solutions to cutting accidents must include traffic-calming schemes such as 'red route' bus lanes to tempt more motorists onto public transport. He also points to the council's annual £500,000 road safety budget and, more significantly for Edgware residents, improvements have been made in the High Street.

TfL was launched on July 3 of this year combining different strands of traffic and road management across London ,, including accident prevention.

Although it is still in its early stages, a spokeswoman said improvements were already planned for Staples Corner including better signage, road markings and anti-skid surfaces.

In the long-term it is hoped having one main body overseeing the roads will reduce accidents. This comes too later for Vera Burgess but may still benefit many hundreds of others in the future.