More police on busy roads in North Yorkshire this summer

North Yorkshire Police are planning to put more officers on busy roads this summer amid an expected rise in car crashes.

The force says July to September typically sees more collisions than at any other point in the year.

Officers are also expecting more cars on the road this summer, as holidaymakers who can't go abroad travel to the county for staycations.

Traffic Sergeant Pete Stringer said “We know the most common causes of serious and fatal collisions – they’re referred to as the fatal five and include excessive speed, drink and drug driving, not wearing a seatbelt, using a mobile phone and careless driving.

“We’ll be targeting all these offences in a bid to reduce collisions during what could be a very busy summer for us.”

Marked and unmarked vehicles are going to be operating on roads where the force is expecting to see the most cars.

They've also trained more officers in road safety skills and will be using a van with a safety camera.

Police in North Yorkshire dealt with 446 collisions in the same month last year and 460 in 2019.

Those numbers can halve in the winter and early spring.

Sgt Stringer added: “We know from the extensive investigation work we carry out on every fatal and serious collision that most crashes are avoidable. They are due to some element of driver or rider error.

“So by having a strong presence on the roads, targeting key routes and using a mix of education and enforcement we hope we can reduce collisions this summer."

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Greatest Hits Radio app.