One hundred people were killed or seriously injured on Sussex’s roads in June – the worst month in four years.

Police have pledged to get the situation “back on track” but admit they do not yet know the cause of the spike.

The rise comes amid a bad quarter for road crashed and one teenage driver who was hurt in June has called for action to improve safety.

Matthew Crawford, 19, and partner Holly Oldham, 18, said they were lucky to be alive after his Lexus skidded in spilled diesel on the A27 and smashed into the side of the road at 65 miles an hour.

They were returning home from visiting friends when Matthew lost control of their car skidded.

Mr Crawford, of Southwick, said he was screaming ‘oh my God’ as the car span. “I accepted I was going to die,” he said.

He said drivers needed to be more aware of the dangers and authorities needed to keep a closer eye on the roads.

He added: “Until you have an accident you don’t realise what damage a car can actually do and how the slightest thing on the road can affect it.

“To make the dual carriageways safer they need to have more speed cameras, not just the odd one.”

In the first quarter of this financial year 271 people were killed or seriously injured on Sussex roads – meaning this year’s full toll is likely to be much greater than last year’s.

Discussing the figures with police on Friday, Sussex police and crime commissioner Katy Bourne said: “If we look at the first quarter of this year so far there is 271 and if they round it up and do that every quarter you are going to have over 1,000 potentially killed or seriously injured.”

The number of people killed or seriously injured on Sussex’s roads jumped by 17 per cent over the past year (from 849 in 2012/13 to 995 in 2013/14), according to the figures read out at the monthly police performance and accountability meeting. Assistant Chief Constable Steve Barry said the Safer Sussex Roads Partnership would carry out a review and pledged measures to get casualty reduction “back on track.”

He added authorities needed to work out whether the spike in the figures this quarter was an anomaly, caused perhaps by the weather or if it was due to driver behaviour.

Joe Burns, spokesperson for road safety charity Brake, said road crashes were “preventable tragedies” and the Sussex figures are “disappointing”.

He added: “As drivers, riders, cyclists and pedestrians, we all have an important role to play in looking out for each other and making sure we are safe on the roads.”

But he added: “However, there are a number of measures the government should be taking to drive down road casualties across the country, including a zero-tolerance drink drive limit, 20mph default urban speed limit, and a system of graduated driver licensing.”

Anti-social driving can be reported via www.operationcrackdown.org or by calling 01243 642 222.