It’s been another deadly year on Kitsap’s roads. With winter weather nearing, it could get worse. But it doesn’t have to.

Please drive carefully out there. Drive defensively and be aware that other drivers may not drive as carefully as you do. Watch for obstacles on the road. Drive for the conditions.

On Nov. 10, a car collided into a refuse truck on Sawdust Hill Road near Poulsbo; the passenger in the car was killed instantly, the driver was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center. Later that afternoon, a driver crashed into the Kitsap Bank on High School Road on Bainbridge Island. Suspected cause: Unsafe vehicle speed.

On Nov. 6, one motorist was killed and two others were injured in a five-car crash at Kitsap Way and National Avenue in Bremerton. The cause: The driver at fault may have fallen asleep at the wheel.

On Oct. 30, Navy Petty Officer First Class Jared Knight’s motorcycle was reportedly sideswiped by a vehicle that made an unsafe lane change on Highway 3 at Anderson Hill Road. Knight died two days later at Harborview Medical Center.

On Sept. 23, Robert Frank Dawson, 88, of Bainbridge Island man was killed and three others were injured in a head-on collision on Highway 104 near Port Ludlow. The cause: The driver of another vehicle crossed into the eastbound lane. Later that day, a motorist was flown to Harborview Medical Center after his GMC truck went off the overpass near the Keyport/Bangor exit of Highway 3. The cause: “From what we can tell, he went to cross too soon and sped down the guard rail and over the bridge,” Washington State Patrol Trooper Michael Welander said at the time. The motorist died later at Harborview.

On July 4, Jordan Adams-Wickham was killed when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver while walking in Indianola. That same day, Joshua J. Doyle was killed when his motorcycle was struck by a vehicle attempting to pass him on Central Valley Road in Silverdale.

On June 5, William J. Bracking was killed when his motorcycle was struck by car making an illegal U-turn on the Highway 16 onramp at Burley-Olalla Road.

On March 11, Benjamin MacQueen of Sequim was killed and two people injured following a head-on collision on Highway 104 near Kingston. The cause: MacQueen’s vehicle crossed the center line.

On Jan. 11, Olympic High School students Kassidy Miranda Clark, Jenna Farley and Luther James Wiggins-Stoudermire were killed when the car in which they were riding crashed on Seabeck-Holly Road, about a mile south of Seabeck. Prosecutors said the 17-year-old driver had smoked pot at a party earlier that evening and was impaired.

And on Jan. 1, a woman driving a minivan the wrong way in the opposing lane on Lakehurst Drive in Bremerton crashed head-on into another vehicle; she and the other driver were seriously injured. The cause: The minivan driver was allegedly intoxicated.

Drunken driving, speeding, distracted driving, and not wearing a seatbelt are the major causes of injuries and deaths in motor-vehicle crashes in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 35,900 traffic deaths nationwide in 2009; according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there were 32,719 traffic deaths in 2013.

“Given that fact that the majority of collisions are caused by human behaviors that are preventable, there is hope that these fatality rates can continue to be reduced,” the Accident Data Center reports.

Safety on our roads starts with you.