Ten die and 250 hurt in Powys crashes during 2015
Ten people – including three motorcyclists – have died and almost 250 were injured in road accidents in Powys this year.
Dyfed-Powys Police said it is doing all it can to reduce the number of accidents on the roads and has now called on motorists to take responsibility.
Across the total force area, 26 people have died so far this year on roads which are popular with bikers and motorists from across Shropshire and Mid Wales.
Superintendent Huw Meredith, head of specialists operations including the roads policing unit at Dyfed-Powys Police, said: "Every fatal collision is a tragic incident and we are doing all we can to prevent these collisions.
"But I think it's down to the individual drivers and riders to take responsibility and not just think about themselves, but about other road users.
"They need to take care to see others in front of them and not take any risks.
"Every road user can make it safer by driving responsibly and complying with speed limits. If they choose not to obey the law then we will take action."
There have been a number of fatal accidents involving motorcyclists on the region's roads this summer.
Earlier this month Nigel Christopher Thompson, 49, of Quarry Bank, Brierly Hill, West Midlands, died after his motorcycle was in collision with a minibus on the A489 between Kerry and Sarn, near Newtown.
In July, two motorcyclists were killed when their bikes collided on the A5 near Gailey in Staffordshire.
Supt Meredith said the force is currently running Operation Darwin, its annual road safety initiative for motorcyclists.
As part of the operation officers are cracking down on bikers, with 440 already stopped and 123 charged with offences.
"The worst example was on June 28 when one was caught riding at 120mph in south Powys," he said. "It's a ridiculous speed to be riding at and not only puts the individual at risk but also other road users."
The force has also been running awareness campaigns throughout the year to try to push home the "fatal five" message.
In March the force ran a seatbelt campaign leading to 35 prosecutions in Powys and 724 force-wide. In April there was a speeding campaign leading to 881 prosecutions force-wide – including 116 in Powys. And in June the focus was on drink and drug driving.
