Why aren't political candidates talking about road danger?

Politicians like to talk. A lot. So it's always interesting to take note of the topics they resolutely refuse to engage with. Fallout from Brexit is one. Road danger is another.

You can be certain that if as many British soldiers were dying each year as the number of people killed on UK roads, the casualty figures would be front page news ahead of next month's election.

As it is, the 80+ people who are killed or seriously injured on UK roads every day are barely acknowledged by the press , let alone politicians. However, there are notable exceptions.

Jenny Jones is best known as a Green Party politician and current member of the House of Lords, but she's also a powerful advocate for safer roads. As president of the Road Danger Reduction Forum, Jenny Jones this week launched it's manifesto:

“Victims of road crashes – whether those injured or those who have lost loved ones – suffer appallingly, not least with an often overly lenient attitude in the justice system. The only civilised approach to this is to reduce danger at source – from those with the potential to hurt or kill others”, says Baroness Jones.

“Measures to curb road danger have to be part of a transport policy – unlike the one we have had for decades – which is less car dependent, and which supports active and less polluting forms of transport: this can also cut the deaths from inactive lives and vehicle emissions, as well as those from road crashes.”

It’s not right to expect children to wear body armour and high visibility clothing to (supposedly) protect themselves, while adults with a ton of metal around them are permitted to get away with dangerous and unnecessary driving which scares them off the streets.”

You can read the manifesto in full at:

https://rdrf.org.uk/2024/06/18/road-danger-reduction-forum-manifesto-2024/

The ethical choice

The ETA was established in 1990 as an ethical provider of green, reliable travel services. Over 30 years on, we continue to offer cycle insurance , breakdown cover and mobility scooter insurance while putting concern for the environment at the heart of all we do.

The Good Shopping Guide judges us to be the UK’s most ethical provider.

A cleaner, safer transport future

Every time you buy cycle insurance, breakdown cover or mobility scooter insurance from us, you help us promote a cleaner, safer transport future. Projects range from nationwide, awareness-raising events such as Green Transport Week to viral online campaigns and the production of documentary films.

For example, our documentary Stop Killing our Children examines how road danger damages us all, whatever our age and however we travel, and questions our collective blindness to both its cause and remedy.

The film is narrated by the BBC’s John Simpson. It features interviews with Chris Boardman, Dr Rachel Aldred, George Monbiot and the founders of the Stop de Kindermoord movement amongst others.

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