SOUTH YORKSHIRE’S MAYOR SPEAKS OUT FOR SAFE SPEEDS

Published 24 November 2023 at 10:46am

•  South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard speaks to support the national Road Safety Week campaign, starting 19 November 2023. 

• The campaign, featuring various road safety activities including educational events for schools and initiatives by South Yorkshire Police’s Community Safety team, will see Mayor Coppard and Ed Clancy at Rotherham's Lifewise Centre, engaging with Barnsley primary school students in road safety scenarios.

22 November 2023, Rotherham – South Yorkshire is backing a national campaign to promote everyone’s right to safe and healthy journeys.

Road Safety Week, organised by charity Brake, aims to reduce the number of people killed or injured as the result of a collision.

The theme for 2023 is speed and members of the South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership (SYSRP) are helping to highlight the dangers of excessive and inappropriate speed.
The week of action began on Sunday 19 November to coincide with The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. 
The following days will feature different aspects of road safety with Wednesday 22 November focussing on schools and education.

South Yorkshire’s Lifewise Centre in Rotherham will host Mayor Coppard and Active Travel Commissioner Ed Clancy as they join Barnsley primary school pupils taking part in Crucial Crew road safety scenarios.
South Yorkshire Police’s Community Safety team, based at the interactive learning facility, deliver a wide range of road safety interventions including DriveStart (for young drivers), the Mini Police scheme, BikerDown! first aid session and Wise Up! for over 50s.

South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “I fully support Brake’s campaign which ultimately comes down to saving lives on our roads.
 
Our communities deserve to feel safe which will only happen if we can put an end to the illegal, reckless and irresponsible behaviour associated with excess speed.
 
I am proud to be part of this conversation and I encourage all road users to do the right thing and travel to the speed limit. Education is a key part of our work across the Safer Roads Partnership to reduce the number of people killed or hurt in a collision.
 
Tragically, thirty-five people lost their lives in 2022 and a further 786  were seriously injured because of a road traffic collision.

This is simply not acceptable. Speed limits are there for a reason and the only way we will ever prevent unnecessary grief and loss, is if we all take responsibility for safe and legal road use.”

Road Safety Week is Brake's biggest road safety campaign. Every year, thousands of schools, organisations and communities get involved to share important road safety messages, remember people affected by road death and injury, and raise funds to help Brake care for more road victims and campaign for safe roads for everyone.

Lucy Straker, Campaigns Manager for Brake said: “Five people die on UK roads every day, so why do we still think it’s OK to speed?

Every time we drive faster than the speed limit, or too fast for the road conditions, we increase the risk of a crash – and we increase the chance that someone we love will be killed or hurt on a road.
Whoever you are, however you travel, we need to talk about speed and I’m grateful to South Yorkshire’s Safer Roads Partnership for being part of the conversation.”
 

Notes to editor

• SYMCA is part of the South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership which delivers a range of casualty reduction schemes across education, engineering and enforcement.
• Examples include Community Speed Watch, targeted police operations, casualty reduction travel schemes, free training for novice drivers and a calendar of campaigns.
• Partners have adopted a ‘Vision Zero’ approach to road safety with an ultimate aspiration to end all death and serious injury on local roads. 
• More information: sysrp.co.uk

Press contact

•    Ludovica Orlando- ludovica@bbpartners.co.uk /+447530400192 
•    Ollie Rackham – ollie@bbpartners.co.uk / +447512641583