Stay away from the county town if you want to be safe on the roads. Figures released by Kent County Council revealed that Maidstone was the worst place in the county for car crashes in 2007, chalking up 750 casualties in the year.

Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks also recorded a high number of incidents, but Gravesham proved to be the safest bet for drivers with just 308 accidents and 383 injuries.

But rather than point to problems with road layouts or signage, KCC was quick to urge road users to be more focused when they got behind the wheel.

KCC Cabinet Member for Highways Keith Ferrin said: "Whilst Kent Highways Services takes its role as the highway authority very seriously, it's important to recognise that any crash statistics show a need to change road user behaviour, because the majority of crashes are as a result of human error."

The overall number of crashes in Kent rose to 4,779 – including 91 fatalities - compared to 90 deaths in 4,752 crashes in 2006. But the total number of casualties on the roads dropped slightly to 6,466, compared to 6,495 in 2006.

More children under the age of 16 were killed on the roads last year – 16 died in 2007 compared to 14 in 2006 and just seven in 2005.

Dover and Maidstone each saw four youngsters killed on their roads during the year – more than any other district – but it was Thanet that saw the highest number of casualties overall, 142, but no fatalities.

Mr Ferrin added: "These statistics are helpful to show us where there is a need to focus our road safety activities, so we can continue reducing the number of crashes.

"It is equally important that people recognise the role that they play in road safety and accept responsibility for their actions as road users."

Figures for crashes and casualties on Medway roads were unavailable from Medway Council.