ABSENT-MINDED drivers are the most common cause of road accidents in Gwent, figures reveal.

Road safety charity Brake has called for a radical overhaul of road safety measures to prevent "needless, preventable" deaths from dangerous driving.

The latest Department for Transport statistics show drivers or riders failing to look properly contributed to 196 accidents across Gwent last year.

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The figures, which report contributory factors for accidents as recorded by police, also show that in Gwent last year, 139 accidents were caused by drivers or riders failing to judge another vehicle's speed.

Officers can choose one or more reasons for any accident where at least one person suffers a slight injury in an incident with a vehicle.

These do not have to involve cars and could, for example, include a cyclist falling over or a motorbike colliding with a pedestrian.

Samuel Nahk, senior public affairs officer at Brake, said: "These figures clearly highlight that driver error is one of the main causes of crashes on our roads, all too often leading to death and serious injury.

"Yet every death and injury on our roads is a needless, preventable tragedy.

"We can mitigate the impact of driver error through a safe systems approach with safer roads, safer vehicles, safer speeds and safer road use, enabling people to move around in safe and healthy ways.

"Drivers can also reduce their chances of causing a crash by ensuring they stick well within the speed limit, take more time to look carefully at junctions, and giving the road their full attention at all times."

Last year, 15 people were killed on Gwent's roads, down from 19 in 2017.

But 182 serious injuries were reported on Gwent's roads in 2018 – far more than the 116 recorded the previous year.

Overall casualties, which include slight injuries, rose slightly from 888 to 901 over the same period.

The DfT cautions against comparing trends from previous years, however, because of changes to the way some forces record the severity of road injuries.

Across Britain, 1,784 people were killed on the roads in 2018, while 25,500 suffered serious injuries.

The trend in fatalities has been broadly flat since 2010, following a sustained drop in road deaths over the last four decades.

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “Every death on our roads is one too many and road safety is an extremely important issue for the Welsh Government.

"We continue to work with our partners to achieve the targets set out in the Road Safety Framework for Wales to ensure that that our roads and streets are safe and accessible for all.”