Reckless and speeding drivers are responsible for a sharp increase in road deaths in West Yorkshire.

Fatalities from road crashes in the county have shot up by more than a third this year.

Between January and May there were 44 people killed in road accidents, compared to 32 for the same period last year, according to figures from the West Yorkshire Road Safety Strategy Group.

The West Yorkshire Casualty Reduction Partnership says a high proportion of the fatal crashes involved illegal or reckless driving, which police are investigating, or cars being driven at excessive speeds.

They included a car being driven at more than 70mph in a 30mph speed limit and a collision involving a vehicle which overtook a line of cars on the wrong side of the road.

There have also been a number of incidents where drivers have lost control at speed and collided with walls or similar structures.

The figures included a couple of apparent suicides which are part of the statistics although they are not accidents.

Casualty Reduction Manager Dave Sherborne, who compiled the figures, said: "We have seen a sudden and inexplicable spate of accidents following reckless driver behaviour that has disproportionately pushed up the number of fatal collisions in the early part of the year."

Mr Sherborne said that in 2005 the number of road fatalities dropped below 100 for the first time since records began in 1974. But this year the figures were back up at previous levels.

But he added: "With everyone's help we can still get a reduction in deaths on our roads for the whole of 2006."

The total number of road accident casualties for the January to May period fell from 4,392 last year to 4,098.

The number of injuries also dropped. Serious injuries were down from 426 to 359 and there were 3,695 slightly hurt casualties, down from 3,934.

Dad gives hard-hitting crash lecture

A father whose teenage son died as a passenger in a drink-drive accident has lectured British soldiers in Germany about the risks faced by young drivers.

Tony Davison, of Otley, who in January was named Volunteer of the Year by the Brake road safety charity, gave a hard-hitting too young to die' presentation to hundreds of soldiers. He also told them of his first-hand experience of the impact a road death has on families.

It included lifesaving advice on the dangers of drink and drug driving, speeding and not wearing seat belts and is based on a DVD, produced by Brake, which includes interviews with bereaved families and emergency service professionals who witness first hand the carnage of road crashes.

Mary Williams, Brake's chief executive, said: "Young people must be taught about the dangers they face when they get behind the wheel. Hearing about the destruction first hand will help them understand the importance of driving responsibly. Tony's efforts meant that hundreds more drivers were able to learn why they are too young to die on the roads."

Mr Davison's son Adrian, 18, was killed when the car in which he was a passenger smashed into concrete railings four years ago. The driver, and his best friend, Nigel Rhodes, who was over the drink drive limit, also died.Mr Davison has been a tireless worker since for Brake and has toured schools in Bradford to educate teenagers on road safety.