Firefighters are urging people to take care on Staffordshire’s roads after being called out to 75 crashes in December.
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said a number of the incidents involved fatalities and serious injuries.
Among those to have died were two men in separate crashes in Lichfield and Alrewas.
Simon England, the service’s prevent delivery lead, said:
“We are trying to raise awareness of the road safety after a recent spike in the number of road traffic collisions.
“We continually work with our partners including the Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership to do all we can to keep people safe on our roads – whether that be pedestrians, drivers or cyclists.
“Firefighters are regularly called to attend road traffic collisions to rescue people from their vehicles, and like our colleagues in the other emergency services we witness far too often the heartbreaking consequences of these incidents.
“Our plea is for everyone to take personal responsibility for road safety, as it’s likely that we will see more hazardous driving conditions this winter and the risk of collisions will increase as a result.
“As drivers, we all have a part to play in making our roads safer for everyone. This means slowing down, looking after our vehicles, avoiding driving after taking drink or drugs, not using a mobile phone when driving, staying alert and always wearing a seatbelt.
“It’s also important to plan your route, allow extra time for your journey and reduce your speed in poor weather conditions.”
Simon England, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service
More advice on safer driving this winter is available online.