WHEN lives are being lost on Lancashire's most dangerous highway - the notorious Grane Road over the moors between Haslingden and Blackburn - action to cut the carnage demands urgent attention.

But, just as this newspaper's campaign for that wins more backing, we learn how one important measure to make the Grane safer has been bogged down in bureaucracy.

It is almost two years since residents first called for changes to the sign on the Haslingden by-pass which they blame for directing large numbers of heavy trucks past their homes.

And it was not just the disturbance caused by the HGVs that was their concern.

They also knew they were a key factor in the road's shocking record for deaths and injuries - a toll that has rocketed to around 100 since they first cried out for curbs - because many drivers recklessly overtake lorries crawling up to the Grane's summit.

But their commonsense call went unheeded until two months ago, while all the time the Grane's transformation into a short-cut for huge volumes of motorway traffic along a completely unsuitable country road was becoming as starkly clear as its dreadful casualty rate.

Eventually the Highways Authority agreed to change the by-pass sign as soon as possible to steer the trucks away from this deadly road.

What happened? Nothing. Why? Officials were twiddling their thumbs.

After giving this newspaper chop-and-change excuses, highways officials admit that what they were doing these past two months was "considering" what to do.

Now, they are doing it - this week. The sign is being changed at long last.

But we are not crowing that our campaign has got the action that was needed.

Far from it, for we are well aware that much more needs to be done to cut the carnage on the Grane.

Our concern is that what needs to be done is done - and without any more of this kind of foot-dragging delay.

Act now! That's our cry.

We insist that every official and every agency responsible for safety on our roads responds to it fully and swiftly.

We want a task force that cuts through the paperwork, the conferring and the bureaucratic bumbledom and gets the job sorted.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.