FIREFIGHTERS have given a stark demonstration of the realities of road crashes as they urge motorists to drive safely as lockdown eases further today.

With the re-opening of non-essential businesses, the roads are expected to be busier with commuters and shoppers - some of whom may not have been behind the wheel for many months.

Jens Archer, Northallerton station manger for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, warned that rusty motorists are more likely to crash and urged drivers to take extra care.

He said: "A lot of crashes are caused by distraction and if you have not been driving for some time because of lockdown and because of home working, it might be that you are more easily distracted.

"Modern communication devices like smart phones are an especially big distraction and we'd urge people to just put them out of sight and concentrate on their driving."

He added: "We don't call road traffic collisions 'accidents' anymore because genuine accidents are very rare; there is usually a reason behind every one."

Investigations into fatal crashes has revealed the five most common causes, known by the emergency services as 'the fatal five'.

These are; speeding, drink or drug driving, people not wearing seatbelts, drivers using mobile phones and careless driving such as tailgaiting and eating at the wheel.

Mr Archer said: "We want to make sure that people are getting out to have a good time from Monday, but that they are doing it safely."

To illustrate what fire crews have to deal with when they attend a serious crash, Northallerton firefighters carried out an extraction demonstration at the station over the weekend.

They demonstrated cutting off a car roof to rescue a dummy baby and adult driver from the 'crashed' car.

Northallerton crew manager Chris Johnstone said: "It is never nice some of the things we have to see, our crew members have to see people in some very awful and challenging situations.

"We have to remember that we are there to try and make it better and we have got to be looking at what we are going to do and the process needed to get those people out as quickly and safely as possible."

Statistics from North Yorkshire Police for the pre-lockdown year, 2019, reveal that there were around 1,000 road traffic collisions in the county.

Of those, 300 were in 30mph zones, resulting in one death. Just over 500 crashes were in 60mph zones, causing 30 deaths, while there were two fatalities among 70 crashes in 70mph zones.

Mr Johnstone explained that 60mph roads tend to be more dangerous as they don't have the safety measures such as crash barriers found on dual carriageways and motorways.

He reiterated the message that motorists unused to being on the roads after months of lockdown should take extra care.

The fire service is also urging people to download the 'what3words' app which can help them pinpoint locations of incidents using mobile data technology.