Terrible death toll on city’s roads laid bare
27 people killed in Birmingham in a year
ATHREE-YEAR-OLD girl who died after she was struck on a zebra crossing was among 27 killed on Birmingham roads in a single year.
And thousands more were also injured in crashes in 2021, shocking new figures have revealed.
The family of little Maysoon AbdulHakeem were devastated as their ‘beautiful’ daughter was fatally injured on Reddings Lane, Tyseley.
Her death had a profound impact, not only on her family, but friends, the local schools and wider community.
She died on November 11 last year – her death following months of tragedy and pain on city roads.
As a result of collisions in Birmingham in 2021, there were 27 deaths and 2,831 casualties, latest figures from Reach data unit show.
Tragically, another girl, also aged just three, died in a separate crash a month later as a car crashed into a fence near Yardley’s Swan Island.
Earlier that month, on December 1, a 20-year-old driver died and his two passengers suffered serious injuries in a tragedy along Bristol Road – one of the city’s most well-known commuter routes.
Across the UK as a whole, there were 101,087 collisions last year, including 1,474 that resulted in at least one death, the figures detailed.
It worked out at a rate of around 15 fatal crashes for every 1,000 road traffic collisions, down slightly from the previous year, but up from the pre-pandemic rate of 14 per 1,000 collisions.
Lucy Harrison, a campaigner and Road Peace coordinator, branded the figures “tragic” as she urged every driver to remember they are handling what can be a “lethal weapon”.
She knows the pain all too well after her brother Peter Price was killed by a speeding hit-and-run driver on Birmingham’s busy Hagley Road in 2014.
She said: “These figures are tragic and my heart is with all of those who have been impacted. While positive steps have been taken by the government, road crime is still not seen as real crime,
and people still don’t realise the terrible impact careless and dangerous driving can have. I would urge everyone to remember that when they get behind the wheel of a car, they are handling what can be a lethal weapon – we all need to be responsible drivers and obey the rules of the road.
“Until society has a culture change and realises that these are crashes, not accidents, we will continue to see preventable and needles road deaths and serious injuries, and families will suffer unnecessary pain.”
The Government has now been urged to publish an updated road safety plan amid “little progress” to make roads safer.
RAC road safety spokesperson Simon Williams said: “While the overall number of road deaths is down on pre-pandemic levels, the fatality rate per billion miles driven has increased suggesting little progress is being made in making our roads safer.
“We urge the government to publish its updated road safety plan which focuses on both improving car safety including mandating technology such as intelligent speed assist in new cars – as well as measures to tackle poor driving standards and illegal behaviour behind the wheel.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: “The number of road deaths has decreased by 11 per cent compared with pre-pandemic levels, however, we are not complacent, and continue working tirelessly to improve road safety.”