IN 2006, 38 people died on Dorset's roads. Within the patch the Daily Echo covers, a further eight were killed in the New Forest and another fatal collision occurred in Wiltshire.

Just a handful of those collisions - where drivers were taken ill at the wheel - were unavoidable. The majority of them could have been prevented.

We have launched a campaign to try and cut that death toll and encourage safer driving in Dorset.

Throughout this week we will be looking at the main killers on our roads - speeding, dangerous driving and drink driving.

Why don't people stick to the speed limit? What causes them to drive dangerously and why do they get behind the wheel after drinking?

Our features will also look at the financial cost of fatal road accidents and how an accident scene is dealt with by the emergency services.

We will focus on the new law regarding the use of mobile phones and what preventative measures the police and local authorities have put in place to reduce road deaths.

Other articles will look at how children and young people are educated about road safety and what happens when motorists receive a speeding ticket, as well as offering life-saving advice about how to become a safer road user.

"There are very few accidents which are true accidents," explained Chief Insp Rick Dowell, who is head of Dorset Police's operations tactical group, including the road policing unit.

"All accidents involve some form of misjudgement, error or outright dangerous action by one or more drivers in a collision."

But it's not just vehicle drivers who need to take more care on our roads. The biggest cause of accidents is lack of awareness and attention - not only by car drivers, but also by pedestrians and cyclists.

"Every road user has a personal responsibility to look after themselves and to make other road users aware of their presence," said Insp Dowell.

"For car drivers that means driving carefully, it means paying attention, displaying lights in darkness and at times of poor visibility, and obeying speed limits.

"For motorcyclists and cyclists it means wearing appropriate clothing such as reflective jackets and displaying lighting at all times of the day.

"For pedestrians also it's paying particular attention, crossing roads at points which are safe, in the dark where there's good lighting, on dark roads carrying a torch. Making yourself as visible as possible, as safe as possible, giving other road users an opportunity to see you and to be able to react.

"So it's a combination of all road users who need to take particular care."

It's that inattention which results, in many cases, in a fatal accident. And while the cost of a human life is immeasurable, the financial cost is staggering.

The latest figures available show that the cost for hospital care for fatal casualties for 2003 came to more than £4.5 billion, with almost £5 billion for serious casualties and nearly £3 billion for slight casualties.

This gives a total cost for hospital care for road casualties of nearly £12.5 billion.

While this figure is astounding, it does not take into account the costs incurred by the other emergency services, including firefighters, police and paramedics, the cost of recovering damaged vehicles, or the cost to the local authority to clear the road.

There is also the cost of an inquest, if required, the cost of criminal proceedings in some cases, the cost of a funeral and the cost of counselling to all those affected by the tragedy.

A number of campaigns are under way across the county following some of 2006's most tragic deaths.

Residents in Bearcross are calling for a pelican crossing to be installed in Ringwood Road following the death of two-year-old Lily Tanner.

The youngster died on February 8, 2006, while crossing the Poole-bound carriageway of the busy road with her mother Sarah, 28, who received serious injuries.

Locals have been calling for a light-controlled pedestrian crossing at the site since 1998, but the campaign was stepped up following Lily's accident.

In Burton, residents want streetlights to be installed in Stony Lane after 87-year-old cyclist Thomas Gregory died in a collision with a Renault Clio on June 29.

Locals said the accident was not the first fatal in the road and that the busy B3347 between Christchurch and Ringwood is in complete darkness at night. The mother of seven-year-old Jade Stoner is campaigning for traffic calming measures on the Christchurch estate where her daughter died in September after she was in collision with a Ford Fiesta.

Debbie and John Stoner, of Edward Road, collected more than 3,000 signatures on a petition to Christchurch Borough Council, in which they urged councillors to consider road humps, pinch points and chicanes.

They also asked for road widening schemes to provide parking bays which would reduce on-road parking and improve visibility.

Dorset Police have repeatedly urged road users to concentrate in a bid to cut the number of people killed and seriously injured in the county and local authorities have an education programme including role plays, videos and magazines, on offer to schools throughout the county.

Lesley Hart, Borough of Poole's road safety education officer, works with other local agencies to put together a number of campaigns in a bid to get the message across to teenagers.

"We are trying to reduce the number of killed and seriously injured," she explained.

"One in five drivers have an accident within two years of passing their test and young and newly qualified drivers represent six per cent of licence holders, but they're involved in 12 per cent of crashes."

Lesley said drugs and drink were a major problem when it came to young drivers, but she echoed Insp Dowell's thoughts on the main cause of accidents being lack of awareness.

"It's not just about you getting it right," she said.

"What about everybody else?

"You have to think of the worst case scenario so you are prepared to act upon it. It's about awareness."

Think it will never happen to you? Think again.

"One thinks of criminals as being dishonest, violent and selfish," said Insp Dowell.

"But even honest, kind, thoughtful and passive drivers can be branded as criminals when they put other members of the public in danger by their actions, which, if resulting in the serious injury or death of another road user, can put them in prison."