For David Dinsey to volunteer to be cut free from a car at the launch of a driver safety campaign was a brave move.

He did not know how he would react to the sound and feel of the vehicle as the windows were smashed and hydraulic cutting equipment sliced through the roof. The experience could have sparked flashbacks.

Fifteen years ago, David was travelling in the back of a taxi on his way to a dinner appointment in Oxfordshire. The car was hit side-on by another vehicle and, sitting at the point of impact, he was seriously injured.

“I remember seeing the lights from the emergency service vehicles and hearing the noise,” recalls the Bingley town centre manager. “Someone asked me whether I could lift my head and then I blacked out.”

David woke a month later to the news that he had received horrific injuries, including a fractured skull, broken eye socket and cracked ribs. “I had plates put into my skull, which are still there,” he says.

For him, the emergency services were lifesavers, and he was only too happy to help launch the Distraction Devastates campaign.

The month-long initiative, which involves advertising across the county, is backed by West Yorkshire Casualty Reduction Partnership, which is made up of the fire service, police and local authority safety officers. It aims to save lives by calling on drivers to pay attention and be aware of their own vehicle and other road-users.

From 2005, West Yorkshire Police began using a new national system for reporting factors that contribute to impacts for personal injury accidents.

There are 77 in all, including slippery roads, disobeying road signals, overshooting a junction, braking suddenly and drink-driving.

A breakdown of figures found that between 2005 and 2009, the top factor was failing to look properly (24 per cent), with failing to judge another person’s path or speed second at 11 per cent and seven per cent poor turning or manoeuvring.

“Most people would probably assume the main factors to be speed and drink-driving, but when you look at the figures they tell a different story and show that it is vital to look properly,” says road accident analyst for West Yorkshire, Geoff Glew. “Drivers need to keep their wits about them and take time.”

Across the county, younger drivers aged 16 to 29 account for 41 per cent of injury-causing accidents, followed by the 30 to 44 age group with 38 per cent – almost as many. Drivers aged 45 to 59 account for 21 per cent.

“This is a problem for all age groups,” stresses Steve Thornton, chairman of West Yorkshire Casualty Reduction Partnership. “My main message is for people to think about their driving. Let’s be responsible and be safe.”

Road safety initiatives introduced over the past few years have resulted in a fall in the number of car drivers and passengers with fatal, serious and slight injuries. This has been mirrored in Bradford.

Steve Haley, watch commander with West Yorkshire Fire Service, based in Fairweather Green, urges motorists to concentrate, observe other vehicles, wear a seat belt and avoid using mobile phones.

Steve and fellow fire officers expertly cut David from a vehicle as onlookers watched in Bingley Market Place.

Nigel Fawcett-Jones, acting sergeant for West Yorkshire Police Motorway Unit, has first-hand experience of how collisions can devastate lives. Among his roles is that of family liaison officer helping bereaved families following fatal collisions.

“The consequences do not just affect those directly involved but others, and potentially for generations to come,” says Nigel.

With motorway driving, fatigue is one of the main causes of accidents. “People can become complacent, and don’t think about what they’re doing. They travel too close to the vehicle in front, or drive too fast,” he adds.

“It is so easy to become caught up in your own journey, whether going to work or taking the children to school. Yet if you fail to look for one split second, the consequences could last a lifetime.”

As David stresses: “I’m living proof that the emergency services can get you out of the car safely and to hospital in time. As I recovered, I met all the people who helped me and cannot praise them too highly.”