90 per cent of Oxfordshire car crashes caused by four factors

Today sees the launch of a major new road safety campaign across Oxfordshire after shocking new statistics showed 90 per cent of crashes were due to the so-called 'fatal four' factors.

Not wearing a seatbelt, distraction, speeding and drink and drugs have been linked to between 20 and 30 deaths on the county's roads every year for the past ten years, with few signs of the situation improving.

Read more: Six terrible crashes in Oxfordshire caused by the 'fatal four'

Oxfordshire's Fire and Rescue Service will be out at service stations today pushing the 'it's not worth the risk' message.

The county's road safety manager, Andy Ford, a firefighter for 27 years, said: "I was at one incident, within the last year, where someone has been killed simply because they are were not wearing a seatbelt.

"If they had been wearing one they would have been walking home.

"There was a crash where the three people wearing belts suffered minor injuries while the one person who wasn't died.

"We see this time and time again: we are a county full of rural roads and people are driving way too fast.

"I've seen a driver lose control and hit a car coming the other way, killing a grandmother sat next to her grandson.

"It is such a waste of life."

A decade ago there were rapid annual reductions in the number of people killed or seriously injured on the roads as cars got safer and road maintenance improved.

REVEALED: The 'shocking' number of crashes on Oxfordshire's key roads

But the past ten years have seen a plateau in which improvements have stagnated, with human error continuing to account for too many deaths.

The fire service hopes to use psychological 'nudge' techniques to constantly remind drivers not to do anything which inpairs their ability to stay safe on the roads.

Mr Ford said: "People know it is dangerous but there are still those who think it is ok.

"We still have work to do to make sure everyone knows this is unacceptable - it has to become a social stigma.

"This is about changing human behaviour and getting this message everywhere it can be seen.

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"We are not saying for a minute anyone wants to crash, but we are all human beings, we are all fallible, and when you are distracted, you are at a much greater risk.

"You can't assume it won't happen to you and you will be alright.

"Imagine if you did cause a crash and injured somebody – that guilt would live with you for the rest of your life."

In January, an inquest heard how Cholsey chef Tom Nelson was seen speeding ‘like a bat out of hell’ along the A41 near Bicester just seconds before he died after losing control and crashing into a tree on August 10 last year.

READ AGAIN: Rural crashes contribute to Oxfordshire road casualties

Another inquest heard in August how Rajiv Mathew was speeding at more than 20mph over the limit and on a conference call on the A4260 near Deddington when he crashed into the oncoming car of 86-year-old David Wotherspoon, killing them both.

Drivers using their phones continues to be a major cause of crashes, according to Mr Ford, despite massive public attention on the issue and increased penalties for those who break the law.

A study released by the RAC last week showed dramatic rises in the proportion of younger working-age drivers admitting to using a phone illegally in 2018.

Nearly half in the 25 to 34 age group said they make or receive calls while driving – up seven per cent on 2017.

Liberty Baker, 14, was killed on the way to school in Witney in 2014 when a car mounted the pavement.

Driver Robert Blackwell received a text message moments before his car struck The Henry Box School pupil and had been smoking cannabis the day before.

In 2015, Gavin Roberts, 28, was killed on the A34 at East Ilsley when the car of Lewis Stratford, of Field Avenue, Blackbird Leys, ploughed into his BMW.

Stratford, who was jailed for three years in March 2017, admitted to making phone calls to his girlfriend at the time of the crash.

In 2016, lorry driver Tomasz Kroker, distracted by his phone, killed a mother and three children when he ploughed into their car on the A34 at East Ilsley.

Also read: Car 'addict' rammed twice by police during Cowley Road chase

RAC road safety spokesperson Pete Williams said: “Following the introduction of stronger penalties in 2017, we saw a promising shift with some drivers changing their behaviour for the better and becoming compliant with the law – indeed recent observational data suggested this was the case.

“Sadly, that didn’t signal the start of a longer-term trend with drivers now seemingly returning to their old ways and putting themselves and millions of other road users at risk.

“We also know from our research that in many cases motorists know using a handheld phone at the wheel is wrong, and we can see a clear downward trend in people who think it’s safe to do it.

“But the problem remains, despite the fact the figures around deaths on our roads where someone was found to be using a mobile phone are stark – official figures show there were 32 needless deaths in 2017, with the true figure where a phone played a part in a collision likely to be significantly higher."