Adjust to winter police warn after 63 crashes

They say many of these are believed to have been as a result of the first genuinely cold period of the winter and drivers not adapting to the conditions.

Sussex Police is increasing the number of road policing officers on the roads during the high risk times and will be carrying out enforcement activities against those people that are at the greatest risk of being killed.

The four big killers are - speeding, drink driving, use of mobile phones and not wearing seatbelts.

These activities will be in addition to the high profile drink and drug driving checks which are already being carried out 24 hours a day and which have shown a disappointingly high level of positive breath tests.

Chief Inspector Mark Trimmer from the Road Policing Unit said: "With December only ten days old, tragically there have been four people killed and 23 seriously injured on Sussex roads and at a time when people are preparing for the festive season, our aim is to try and prevent any further loss of life or serious injury, but we need all road users to play their part.

"This means for drivers/riders making sure their tyres and lights are legal, consider if their journey is necessary and allow extra time for it. That they look at the road conditions and adapt their driving standards to reduce the risk of losing control. It is vital that drivers and riders allow extra distance from the vehicle in front to give them time to react.

"We advise cyclists to wear reflective clothing and during the long hours of darkness make sure their lights work. In addition we would encourage parents to warn children of the dangers of failing to cycle without lights and of crossing the road without looking or being distracted by the use of mobile phones or similar devices.

"Pedestrians should consider they may be difficult to be seen particularly at night and that drivers may take longer to stop due to the road conditions.

"My staff will be out 24 hours a day carrying out enforcement, targeting collision and route hot spots as well as those individuals who have been reported to us as being a real risk to other road users.

"Finally, one of the most difficult roles for any police officer is to tell a family that a loved one has been killed or seriously injured in a collision. To help prevent collisions we need everybody to play their part.

"As part of our attempt to reduce the number of collisions and target those road users who create the greatest risk we would encourage the public to use the Operation Crackdown website www.operationcrackdown.org to report people who drive in an anti social manner.

People are also encouraged to call Sussex Police on 0845 60 70 999 to report drink drivers or alternatively they can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or 999 in an emergency.