Partners show their commitment to road safety in Warwickshire by launching new Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership

Partners show their commitment to road safety in Warwickshire by launching new Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership

Partners in Warwickshire are showing their commitment to reducing the numbers of people killed or seriously injured on our roads by joining together to form a new Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership.

Chaired by Warwickshire’s PCC Philip Seccombe, the partnership includes Warwickshire Police, Warwickshire County Council, Borough/ District and Parish Councils, Warwickshire, Fire and Rescue Service, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Warwickshire and Highways England.  The partnership will also work with local, regional and national charities and bodies such as Project Edward and Brake road safety charity as well as national bodies such as Public Health England, the British Horse Society and the National Police Chiefs Council.

The partnership is currently working with Agilysis to develop a long-term road safety strategy for Warwickshire. This will be published later this year following a public consultation.

In the interim, using the latest statistics, the partnership has identified Pre drivers and Young Road Users (16-24), Older Road Users (60+), and Motorcyclists and Cyclists as priority groups that will be supported through road safety initiatives. Education and enforcement around the ‘fatal 4’ – speeding, drink or drug driving, using a handheld mobile phone whilst driving and not wearing a seatbelt will also be prioritised.

New branding and a new WRSP website has been launched today to help the public easily find road safety related information in the county. The website can be found here www.warksroadsafety.org and content includes the latest casualty data and road safety news and campaigns as well as information to support different road users, education and training for children and adults and information on enforcement such as the ‘fatal 4’, speed cameras and how to report offences.  You can also find out about the county’s latest road safety engineering projects designed to reduce collisions.

New social media accounts also go live today and can be found @WarksRoadSafety on Twitter and @WarwickshireRoadSafety on Facebook.  A partnership newsletter will also go live.

Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Seccombe said “As Chair of the Partnership, my ambition is for Warwickshire to really lead the way nationally on road safety. All partners share that determination to find new ways of ensuring that our county is as safe as it can be for all road users and pedestrians.”

Warwickshire Police Chief Constable Debbie Tedds said “Every death or serious injury on Warwickshire’s roads is one too many. We are committed to working with our partners to do all that we can to protect people from harm on our roads. Together we will take a comprehensive approach involving a wide range of different actions and initiatives to help us achieve this aim, linking education, engineering and enforcement.

“From a policing perspective, we know the harm that speeding and drink and drug driving can cause to our communities. We take enforcement of these crimes extremely seriously, and those who put themselves and others at risk by behaving in such ways can be assured that they will be caught and will face the consequences for their actions.”

Councillor Wallace Redford, Portfolio Holder for Road Safety said “Warwickshire County Council has the primary responsibility for road safety, and we take this responsibility very seriously. Working with partners through the partnership helps us enhance our work in Road Safety education and engineering.“

Chief Fire Officer Ben Brooks said “Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service values partnership working, as we know when we come together to tackle such important issues, we become greater than the sum of our parts. “

Highways England Assistant Regional Safety Coordinator, Marie Biddulph, said “Safety is always our number one priority and we believe no-one should come to harm when travelling or working on our roads. We are committed to meeting a target of zero injuries or deaths on our road network by 2040.

“Working closely with our partners is key to helping us meet that goal. We all want to make the roads as safe as possible and through collaborative initiatives such as the Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership we can do that.”

The partnership is governed by a Strategic Board that holds the partnership to account, sets the strategic direction of the partnership and agrees the partnership objectives and priorities. These are then developed into a delivery and evaluation plan by an Operational Board   The two way process means the Operational Board also reviews current local issues and makes recommendations and proposals to the Strategic Board.  The Strategic Board also helps promote the partnership’s work nationally through its work with government bodies.

Funding for new and innovative projects that meet road safety objectives and priorities is available both to partners who can apply for a grant from the Strategic Board and to the public by applying to the Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe’s Road Safety Fund.