Partners who form the Bedfordshire Road Safety Partnership (BRSP) gathered at the council offices in Chicksands this month and pledged their commitment to working together to improve the safety of Bedfordshire’s roads for all users.
The refreshed road safety strategy, which is set to 2035, focuses on a long-term ambition to achieve ‘Vision Zero’, where nobody is killed or seriously injured on the roads of Bedfordshire; with an interim target of reducing current numbers by 50 per cent.
The partnership commissioned the services of UK leading road safety experts, Agilysis, and after a period of review, the new strategy has been launched with a commitment from all agencies to take collective responsibility to work towards all five areas of the Safe Systems principles. Work will focus on safe speeds, safe vehicles, safe roads and roadsides, safe road users and post-crash response.
Bedfordshire Road Safety Partnership (BRSP) Strategic lead, Deputy Chief Constable Dan Vajzovic of Bedfordshire Police, said: “The review recognised the positive work of the partnership and strong relationships, and has put a focus on a more coordinated and consistent strategic direction to enable the delivery of road safety in Bedfordshire.
“We are reminded all too often of the dangers of the roads and we owe it to families, friends and neighbours to reduce the number of people tragically and avoidably killed and seriously injured on the roads in our county. We will work relentlessly towards our vision.
“This is not one individual organisation’s responsibility, and it is fantastic to see senior leaders from the political and operational sphere coming together. We must vote with our feet and time to get the best use of our finite resources to improve the safety of our streets.”
More than 1,500 respondents engaged with a public consultation and online survey carried out as part of the partnership review. Road safety was the highest issue highlighted for action, and priority areas voted on by the respondents included improving safety on the roads, road maintenance, speeding, police enforcement and tackling anti-social behaviour.
Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (BFRS) brought the recently launched Vision Van to the event, a road safety vehicle jointly funded by the BRSP and Office of Police and Crime Commissioner which utilises virtual reality to engage and educate young people.
The launch of the strategy heard the commitments of all partners to deliver the vision to 2035 and concluded with some words from Road Victim Trust Chair of Trustees, Lyn Hesse, who outlined the support the charity provides to anyone affected by a fatal collision.
