The UK’s top roads policing and road rescue chiefs are joining forces with bereaved families to make a united stand against road death and injury.
Sussex Police Chief Constable Jo Shiner, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for roads policing, and Surrey Chief Fire Officer Dan Quin, the National Fire Chief Council’s road safety and road rescue teams lead, are backing the RoadPeace Challenge 2023.
The campaign, which centres around a week of action from May 15 to 21, 2023, during UN Global Road Safety Week, brings together police, fire and rescue services, ambulance crews, NHS and other professionals who witness the daily devastation caused by road crashes, alongside victims and bereaved families.
Every day on the UK’s roads, around five people are killed and hundreds are injured in collisions.
Research conducted by the Transport Safety Research Centre at Loughborough University revealed that road crashes impact more than 500,000 people in the UK every year, both physically and mentally.
The RoadPeace Challenge is putting crash victims, bereaved families and the emergency services at the heart of the campaign, giving them a voice and giving the public an insight into the lasting physical and mental impact of collisions.
As well as being the most senior roads policing officer in the UK, Chief Constable Jo Shiner also knows the personal impact of road crashes. Her father was killed in a collision on his way to work after another driver fell asleep at the wheel, when she was a teenager.
She said: “We must continue to work together to reduce death and serious injury on our roads. I know what it means to have a loved one killed on the roads and am passionate about reducing the number of families that suffer that immense, avoidable and lasting loss.”
Chief Fire Officer Dan Quin said: “Deaths and serious injuries on our roads are devastating tragedies which impact on individuals, families and communities. These incidents can leave an indelible impression on emergency responders.”
He added: “Signing up to the RoadPeace Challenge is a great opportunity for fire and rescue services, their partners and blue light colleagues to unite against road harm and support Vision Zero.”
Sign up to the RoadPeace Challenge here: https://www.roadpeace.org/roadpeace-challenge/signup-for-the-roadpeace-challenge-2023
To make a donation to the RoadPeace Challenge fundraising appeal go to: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/roadpeacechallenge All money raised will help RoadPeace to continue its invaluable support work for road crash victims.
