ROAD conditions in the Winter months can be treacherous. From ice on the roads to floodwater, you never know what could be waiting for you around the corner.

Luckily, the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service team will be there if you ever find yourself in a dangerous situation.

More than 500 crashes were attended between July 2015 and July 2016 across Somerset, and the service wants you to be prepared for any sort of road conditions to prevent the crews from attending a crash involving you.

Of the 596 crashes attended by Somerset crews over the year, 38 per cent were thought to be attributed to inappropriate speeds for road conditions, and 18 per cent were attributed to distractions.

Chris Jones, road safety officer for the Somerset West area of the fire service, said: "Unfortunately drivers aged between 17-24 years are still over represented in the 'killed and seriously injured' figures yet only represent ten per cent of the drivers on our roads.

"Many of these collisions are attributed to excessive speed for the conditions and many of these incidents could be avoided by simple changes in habits such as better time management and allowing longer time for journeys.

"Distractions are also an increasing cause and passengers also need to take some responsibility when in the vehicle as well as the driver.

"Today’s roads are busy stressful places so drivers need to be focussed on the task in hand. This can be improved when passengers do their bit to keep in car distractions down to a minimum."

The service also think that drivers should set out to be role models for their younger passengers, as bad habits can be picked up quickly.

Mr Jones added: "Parents also need to take responsibility for the next generation of motorists. Many drivers are witnessed on phones or speeding in front of their own child passengers. They are effectively condoning their behaviour. Children learn at a very early age and will see it become the norm without the parents often realising it.

"Positive role modelling by parents of five-12 year olds has the potential to have a huge influence on their child’s future driving behaviour.

"The most important message I can give is to ask drivers to do their best to lead by example - by displaying good driving skills, you may have a positive influence on others around you."

Amy's Experience:

The Blue Watch crew from Taunton Fire Station did a practice drill with reporter Amy Cole as the live casualty.

I was sat in the car in the driver's seat in protective gear, that a real casualty wouldn't normally have, so I knew I couldn't get hurt. A man named Tim got in next to me who was the dedicated person the team had elected to look out for the casualty. He then moved into the back seat and held my head in place, so if I had hurt myself I would be stabled. While this would be good practice for a casualty – it was a bit of a burden for a nosey reporter that wanted to see what was going on around me.

The other crew members were busy laying out all of the tools from the fire engine like a massive tool belt. Everything is brought out as they never know exactly what they might need and don't want to be caught without it.

Tim then talked me through what was going on around me when the action started. They started by smashing the windows around the car, which they call "managing" the glass. This was done for all the window except the front, which was already shattered.

A big plastic sheet was then put over my head and the person in the back seat, this was to protect us from any debris flying around while the car was being taken apart. While this stunted my vision, I could hear what was going on around me and Tim told me what was happening. The crews were then working to cut the four pillars of car to ensure they could lift the roof. The attention to detail was great as they went back to one of the pillars to cut it shorter as they felt it might have posed a risk. The managed the front window and were able to lift the roof away from the car.

Once the roof was off the attention was back on getting me out of the car. Crew members held me in place while they slid a support down my back and slowly hoisted me out of the care. This was done very carefully as the person in the driver's seat could have unknown injuries.

They lifted me out of the board and placed me on the ground, and all I could see was the Peugeot that had now been turned into a convertible.

The crews worked really hard to get me out, and it was over faster than I thought it would take to cut apart a car.

The firefighters displayed great team work throughout the practice, you could constantly hear them discussing what they were doing with each other while they were doing it.

Although it was a little daunting, my nerves were kept at bay by Tim who explained to me what was happening throughout the whole experience and I knew I was in safe hands with the team.