Dear PM, someone's killed every 16 mins

Safe Streets Now seeks to highlight how road traffic-related harms blight communities, and calls for the safety of our streets to be properly prioritised.

We're proud to have signed their open letter to the PM, leader of the opposition, Secretary / shadow Secretary of state for transport and heads of the sentencing council / CPS:

In 2022 1,766 people were killed in road traffic collisions in the UK, and a further 28,941 were seriously injured. 2,450 of the victims were under 16. These events leave in their wake grieving families, traumatised individuals and distressed communities. They create a climate of fear on our streets, inhibiting children’s freedom to walk, cycle and play outside and exacerbating the vulnerability of those who are frail or disabled.

It is entirely possible to create streets where no-one is killed or seriously injured in a crash. But the idea that these incidents are somehow inevitable has led us to overlook life-saving solutions to the problem and fostered a culture of leniency in our criminal justice system that gives manifestly dangerous drivers endless second chances behind the wheel.

Communities across the UK are angry at the fear, danger and injustice they live with as a result. Such experiences exemplify the irrefutable case for the safety of our roads to be prioritised, and form the basis of our coalition of individuals, local groups and national campaigning organisations articulating the case for the changes required to achieve this.

We are writing, therefore, to urge you to commit to this process, creating a policy and funding climate that allows local authorities and police forces to work towards minimising the negative impacts of road traffic.

Specifically, we also challenge you to enact the following changes, to enhance the safety of all road users, properly protect spaces reserved for the most vulnerable and ensure that we are not forced to share our streets with dangerous drivers:

We challenge that:

The Government makes 20mph the default speed limit in built-up areas, implements a nationwide ban on pavement parking and allocates 10% of highway spending to infrastructure for walking, wheeling and cycling.

The Sentencing Council reviews its guidance on driving bans for dangerous drivers, so that lifetime bans are the automatic dispensation where someone has been killed and Longer bans are mandatory for less serious offences or near misses

The CPS and Local Police Forces impose interim driving bans as bail conditions for people arrested for or charged with causing death or serious injury by dangerous, intoxicated or careless driving.

When someone is killed or seriously injured every 16 minutes on our roads, urgent action is required. More must be done, and soon, to achieve justice for the victims of these avoidable tragedies and make our streets safe, joyous and welcoming spaces for all who use them. We look forward to hearing how you intend to work towards this vital objective.

Safe Streets Now Day of Action 2024

Safe Streets Now is a grassroots coalition of community groups across the UK, backed by national road safety organisations. The group stands together, across the country, to find this peace, reclaim our space and achieve justice for the victims of road danger everywhere. There's a chance for everyone to get involved in this important campaign this weekend.

"The city is where people come to work, raise families, walk in the evening. It is not a traffic corridor" John Norquist

A rational approach to road danger reduction isn’t just about stopping the death of children, it’s about helping them to thrive. Odense is the third-largest city in Denmark and yet 81% of children ride to school, generally without their parents. Here in Britain, it’s less than 2%.

Many thousands have seen the film the ETA made about road harm. It makes for tough viewing in parts, but please watch and share as widely as possible.

Stop Killing our Children from ETA on Vimeo.

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