Council supports Road Safety Week 2020

Cheshire West and Chester Council is supporting UK Road Safety Week which national road safety charity, Brake, launches today.

Taking place between 16 to 22 November, Road Safety Week 2020’s theme has been announced as ‘No need to speed’, following findings that just a quarter of people think vehicles travel at a safe speed on the street where they live.

Slower traffic makes places feel more welcoming for the people who live, work and play in them. Where traffic is slow, more people choose to walk and cycle and more people interact with each other on the street, creating fitter, healthier and happier communities. This Road Safety Week, everyone can learn there is ‘No need to speed’ and find out just why speed matters for safe and healthy journeys.

 The Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport, Councillor Karen Shore said: “The safety of our roads impacts all our daily lives, whether we are motorists, cyclists or pedestrians, and national road safety charity, Brake, has shown how the speed of traffic on our streets has a big influence on wellbeing.  We can all play our part to keep our communities safe when travelling, by keeping speed in mind and knowing what a safe speed is.

“Over the past few months we have seen an increase in people choosing cycling as means of transport and the current lockdown will see more people walking to take their daily exercise.  It’s important that we all come together to make the roads in West Cheshire safer for all.”

To participate in Road Safety Week, people are invited to register for a free action pack at www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk.  Everyone can take part in Road Safety Week:

The Council’s network of Junior Safety Officers in schools across the borough have also been encouraged to take part in the campaign by spreading the ‘No Need To Speed’ message to their fellow pupils, teachers and parents.

There are many reasons why people might speed: because they are in a rush to get somewhere, they are unaware of the speed limit, they enjoy driving fast, or many other reasons. But there is no excuse for speeding – it’s a major factor in many road crashes, and the faster a vehicle is travelling, the more energy is transferred in a crash.

‘No need to speed’ was chosen as the theme for Road Safety Week 2020 following the findings of the ‘How safe are the streets where you live?’ survey, conducted online by Brake over the past year.

The survey of over 1,700 members of the UK public, found that just a quarter believe that vehicles travel at a safe speed on the street where they live. Brake also found that six in ten people feel that the speed of traffic on their street negatively affects their wellbeing and two-thirds identify motorised traffic as the biggest threat to their health and safety on their street.

Joshua Harris, director of campaigns for Brake, the road safety charity, said: “Speed plays a part in every crash and just 1mph can mean the difference between life and death on the roads.  This Road Safety Week we want to help everyone understand why speed matters and to join together to say there is ‘No need to speed’ on our roads.”

About Brake

Brake is a national road safety and sustainable transport charity, founded in 1995, that exists to stop the needless deaths, serious injuries and pollution occurring on our roads every day. We work to make streets and communities safer for everyone, and care for families bereaved and injured in road crashes. Brake's vision is a world where there are zero road deaths and injuries, and people can get around in ways that are safe, sustainable, healthy and fair. We do this by pushing for legislative change through national campaigns, community education, services for road safety professionals and employers, and by coordinating the UK's flagship road safety event every November, Road Safety Week. Brake is a national, government-funded provider of support to families and individuals devastated by road death and serious injury, including through a helpline and support packs.

Road crashes are not accidents; they are devastating and preventable events, not chance mishaps. Calling them accidents undermines work to make roads safer and can cause insult to families whose lives have been torn apart by needless casualties.

Road Safety Week

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. Road Safety Week 2020 takes place 16-22 November, with support from the Department for Transport.