HARROW has the safest roads in the country, according to new figures.

Statistics released last week by the Department of Transport have revealed that Harrow has 17 casualties per 10,000 people, compared with the City of London – only 14 miles away – which has a staggering 371 per 10,000 residents.

Harrow Council’s portfolio holder for environment and community safety, Councillor Phillip O’Dell, said: “In Harrow, we are proud to have one of the best road safety records in the country and our road safety team works hard to ensure these standards are maintained.

“Road accidents can have serious and tragic consequences and they can be avoided.

“We will continue to do all we can to ensure our borough is as safe as possible.”

Harrow has consistently kept its road casualty figures low in recent years, with the latest figures indicating that roads are continuing to get safer.

In 2011, there were 34 serious accidents, compared to 73 in 2005.

The number of minor accidents has also decreased to 385 in 2011, compared to 564 in 2005.

Mr O’Dell added: “The council carries out regular analysis of roads and junctions and they work quickly to implement necessary road safety measures such as traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, and any speed restrictions that will help to keep road users safe.”

Research released last week by a GPS company which revealed a road in Harrow was the third slowest in the UK during rush hour has been rubbished by the council.

The findings calculated that Greenhill Way, Harrow, had a rush hour speed of just 0.25 mph, just behind Clapham’s Bedford Road in south London, which had a speed of 0.13mph, the survey reported.

However, the findings, which were produced by RAM tracking, were calculated by monitoring only business drivers in February this year.

The council’s divisional director of environmental services John Edwards said: “This information, which has been released for marketing purposes, is based on a very limited sample of data.

“Harrow Council relies on information released by Transport for London, which uses the Trafficmaster data system, the market leader in terms of GPS traffic monitoring, and has a much larger and more reliable sample of data.”

John Holmes, owner of Calamity Comics in Greenhill way, added: “It’s a big surprise. I suppose you’ve got the two zebra crossings and all the traffic lights, but I’ve never seen it too chock-a-block.”

n What do you think about the finding from the surveys? Email john.shammas@trinitymirror.com,