THE number of people injured in car crashes in Wokingham has increased for the first time in five years whilst Bracknell’s roads are still getting safer.

THE number of people injured in car crashes in Wokingham has increased for the first time in five years whilst Bracknell’s roads are still getting safer.

The number of casualties in Wokingham has fallen from 419 to 315 between 2010 and 2013 but rose for the first time, back up to 359.

In Bracknell Forest the number of casualties continued a three-year fall where the number of casualties decreasing form 311 in 2012 to 256 last year.

When broken down by police force the figures show the Thames Valley is the second most dangerous region of England to drive in.

Only London’s Metropolitan force attended more fatal scenes in 2014.

Charlotte Redman, a spokeswoman for Thames Valley Police said Thames Valley is the largest non-metropolitan force in the country.

She said: “It covers the whole of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire and covers 2,200 miles with 196 miles of motorway, a population of over 2.3million and over six million visitors a year “We use targeted enforcement to try and reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads.

“We focus on drink/drug driving, mobile phones, seatbelts and speed. It has shown that by targeting these we can have a positive impact.

“Enforcement is supported by educational alternatives to prosecution which are aimed at improving driver behaviour.

“These are supported by our campaigns to promote safe driving including the Safe Drive Stay Alive project aimed at young drivers and the Bikesafe Campaign for motor cyclists. Our website also offers advice to motorists.” Figures released by the Department for Transport show the number of people killed in car crashes across Wokingham Borough increased from one in 2013 to three in 2014.

During the same time the number of people injured and requiring hospital treatment fell by six and those injured not requiring admission rose by 48.