Three in five deaths happen on rural roads so Kent County Council is warning drivers "don't assume the national speed limit is safe".

In the last five years, there have been 223 collisions on the county's roads, leading to 339 casualties and 51 people being killed or seriously injured.

More than half the drivers involved were aged between 17 and 34.

But not all of these cars were necessarily travelling above the speed limit.

Rural roads - main routes outside of town centres with a speed limit of 50mph or more - are where many of these crashes happen.

Kent Road Safety's Vicky Harvey said: "You need to think about the speed you’re travelling at and whether it is appropriate for the time and place.

"This changes every time you drive, and you should be considering that - you crash because you can’t stop in time, and if you can’t stop in time it’s because you’re going too fast."

A head-on collision on a 60mph road with people driving to the limit could see two cars colliding with an impact of 120mph.

Mrs Harvey added: "If you’re on a motorway, impact speeds can be slower because, for instance, where someone travelling at 50mph is rear-ended by a driver at 70mph, the initial impact is 20mph.

"It’s the combination of mixed hazards and the higher speed in these areas which creates the danger.

"Rural roads often have things alongside them such as walls, fences, trees, junctions and traffic lights, which means you need to be extra careful.

"There could also be vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders."

The council is urging people to think - if a car suddenly stopped, if a traffic light changed, if someone was to step out, could you stop in time?

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