Residents living along the B5056, which is crumbling away due to a landslip, slammed the county council for ignoring their pleas for maintenance to be carried out on the stretch.
They refuted a statement by highways bosses that the landslip was first noticed at Christmas, and have found evidence that suggests the problem was first looked at more than 40 years ago.
Historic documents show the issue of landslips has been acknowledged since the 19th Century and heavy traffic is being blamed for the latest dramatic landslide.
But rather than call for a weight limit on the narrow stretch, which is used daily by quarry lorries, people living nearby think the answer lies in widening the road to accomodate large traffic.
Sandra and David Snow have lived alongside the road for four years, and are often writing to the council, begging highways bosses to make improvments.
Sandra said: "It really is a disaster waiting to happen, and it's really frightening to see the road slipping away but the worst problem is the narrowness of the road.
"It's no good putting a weight limit on, as that will harm the quarries that use it everyday, but we've ended up being forced into the hedges in our car and watching two lorries try to pass is frightening."
Land slips are not confined to the short stretch near the Bentley Brook Inn, but several other areas have had to be patched up where the tarmac is giving way to the weight of the traffic.
Derbyshire County Council said in a statement last week that geological investigations into slip sites were on-going and they were looking in to how to repair and maintain it.
A spokesman said: "This is happening imminently and we are looking to move in to repair the slips and strengthen the road in late May or early June.
"This will mean closing the road which will take a lot of planning. We are looking at how we can do this without causing too much disruption. We are not considering a weight restriction."
Fears are now growing for the carriageway among people living on the B5056, which links the A515 with the A6.
They feel that with lorries continuing to use the road everyday, more pressure will be focussed on the opposite side of the road, which is also laid on shale.
