ROAD safety is the responsibility of us all, a police inspector says, after figures show thousands have been involved in collisions on roads across North Wales.

Freedom of Information data, obtained by the Leader, shows that almost 5,000 collisions were reported across Flintshire and Wrexham since 2016 - the equivalent of four crashes a day.

Injury RTC data disclosed by North Wales Police showed results from January 1, 2016 to September 30, 2019. These were broken down to fatal, serious, slight and damage only.

In Flintshire, an overall total of 2,463 road traffic collisions were recorded during the three years, with 2018 being the highest with 670 in total. This decreased to 558 reported in 2019.

During the three years, a total of 19 fatalities were recorded, with 2018 being the highest with six.

There was a decrease in all incidents across Flintshire in 2019, with the highest section being damage only incidents with 438.

Inspector Gareth Jones of the Roads Policing Unit said: “We are committed to reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured in collisions, targeting resources at casualty reduction and working with all partners to improve road safety across North Wales.

“Road safety is the responsibility of us all, whether as a driver, motorcyclist, cyclist or pedestrian and I would like to take this opportunity to ask everybody to take extra care when out and about on the roads, to think about their behaviour and what changes they could make to improve their own safety and that of other road users.

“Don’t take unnecessary risks or think a collision will never happen to you – it happens to people in all areas of the community.”

In comparison, Wrexham saw more than half the fatalities than Flintshire, with eight being recorded over three years. The highest was four in 2016, which decreased to two in 2019 and one in 2017 and 2018.

An overall total of 2,419 incidents were recorded with 2018 being the highest with 708.

All incidents saw a decrease in 2019, with the highest section being damage only with 373.

Inspector Jones added: “With winter now upon us it is more important than ever to make sure you can be seen when you’re out and about near roads.

“The longer periods of darkness in the mornings and evenings, as well as poorer weather conditions, mean the risks of being involved in road traffic collisions are heightened.”

In 2019, Flintshire saw three fatalities, 30 serious collisions, 87 slight and 438 damage only.

This differed from Wrexham which saw two fatalities, 36 serious, 75 slight and 373 damage only.

Inspector Jones said: “Reducing casualties on our roads remains one of our top priorities.

“We want everyone to be able to visit and travel around our beautiful region in as safe an environment as possible.

“We need people to modify their driving behaviour on our roads, to protect their own safety and that of others.”

The top three roads within Flintshire for injury collisions between January – September this year were the A5104, A548 and A55 whereas the top three for damage only were Chester Road in Broughton, Aston Road in Queensferry and joint third were Northop Hall and Chester Road West in Shotton.

In Wrexham, the top three roads for injury collisions were the A483 and A525 joint top with joint third being A539 and A5.

The top three for damage only collisions were Ruthin Road, Mold Road and Holt Road.

Inspector Jones said: “Our dedicated team of police officers, police staff and Special Constabulary are fully committed to promoting road safety.

“Working 24/7 they carry out a great deal of campaign work which will continue with the sole aim of attempting to reduce the number of fatal and serious collisions.”