Road Safety Week – Lets Talk About Speed

In the last year alone, 33 people in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent have died after a road collision, which is why the Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership (SSRP) is supporting a national campaign to encourage road users to reduce their speed.

Road Safety Week, co-ordinated by the charity ‘Brake’, started yesterday, and runs until Saturday 25 November. The theme of this year’s campaign is ‘Let’s Talk about SPEED’.

Speed can often be a major factor in road collisions – the faster the speed of a vehicle, the greater the risk of a crash and the severity of the collision.

Across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, work is ongoing to tackle speeding on our roads:

Last year, over 46,000 people were prosecuted for driving over the legal speed limit across the county

The SSRP is investing over £640,000 in new technology, including new mobile speed camera equipment and vans, and digital upgrades to fixed cameras to make it easier and quicker to capture and receive images of those who are speeding

There are 80 Community Speed Watch groups, run by 386 volunteers. These groups are vital in the detection and prevention of speeding in the county

Road Safety Week is the UK’s flagship event to promote safer road use, coordinated annually by the charity Brake and involving thousands of schools, communities and organisations across the country.

Deputy Staffordshire Commissioner for Police, Fire & Rescue and Crime Helen Fisher co-Chairs the SSRP, alongside Staffordshire Commissioner Ben Adams.

Helen said: “Every life on our roads matters, and Road Safety Week is an opportunity to remember those who are killed or injured on our roads, and campaign for everyone’s right to make safe and healthy journeys.

“Whenever we driver faster than the speed limit, or too fast for the road conditions, we increase the risk of a collision, and the chance that someone we love could be killed or hurt.

“Everyone should be able to use our roads safely, so it is vital to keep your speed within the legal limit next time you get in your vehicle or on your motorbike. We all have the power to make a difference.”

Road Safety Week is the UK’s flagship event to promote safer road use, coordinated annually by the charity Brake and involving thousands of schools, communities and organisations across the country.

Full details on this year’s campaign can be found at www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk. People can also support the campaign by following #RoadSafetyWeek on Twitter and sharing posts on their social media channels.

Find out more about the work of the Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership here: www.staffssaferroads.co.uk

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