THE shocking toll of deaths and serious injuries on Dorset's road has been revealed in a selection of maps, produced by Dorset's local authorities.

The maps show that across Dorset in the last three years there has been 875 incidents.

According to figures from Poole, Bournemouth, Purbeck, Christchurch and North and East Dorset a staggering 81 people were killed and 794 seriously injured in that time period.

But while distressing, local authorities are actually reporting a fall in the numbers.

In Dorset County Council area (including West Dorset and Weymouth and Portland) the total number of people killed or seriously injured has fallen from a 1994 to 1998 average of 327 per year, to the most recent three-year average of 268.

In Poole that figure was 58 people a year from both 2001 to 2004 and 2004 to 2007, but the average number of fatalities has dropped by half over the same period.

Cllr Mike White, cabinet portfolio holder for transportation, Borough of Poole, said: "We are committed to achieving the national target of a 40 per cent reduction in fatal and serious injuries by 2010 through a range of measures.

"These include targeted enforcement to tackle speeding and those motorists who use their mobile phones while driving, as well as road safety schemes and educational initiatives such as the Pass Plus programme which aims to support young drivers."

In Bournemouth there is a similar trend.

Councillor Robert Lawton, cabinet portfolio holder for environment and transport, said: "Overall the number of road accidents in Bournemouth is on a downward trend but the recent increase in the number of people seriously injured is of concern."

He added: "Accident hotspots are targeted to maximise accident reduction through highway engineering improvements, enforcement and education campaigns."

While some black-spot roads are clear, the 781 accidents are dotted around the county illustrating that an accident can happen anywhere.

This is the message from Rob Smith, road safety team leader at Dorset County Council, who called on drivers to take more responsibility for what happens on the roads.

He said: "What we tend to find is when there is an accident people tend to blame the road when in actual fact it is the way in which people use the road. People need to change their attitude behind the wheel and become 100 per cent focused on driving.

"Attention is moving to working with drivers rather than just engineering out the problem."