Hundreds were injured on our roads last year
Action has to be taken to prevent people being injured on Calderdale’s roads, as figures reveal that nearly 500 were hurt last year, some fatally.
Partnerships with others, including through participation in West Yorkshire’s Vision Zero programme, will be crucial, councillors heard.
Calderdale Council’s assistant director for strategic infrastructure, Adrian Gill, said 478 people were injured on Calderdale’s roads last year, and 149 people were killed or seriously hurt in these incidents.
“Sadly, this is an issue which touches a lot of people,” he said.
Coun Dot Foster (Lab, Sowerby Bridge) said driving standards were a real concern. “It is hugely sobering we have so many people killed or injured on our roads and so frustrating standards of driving are so poor we have that amount of accidents, that devastate people’s lives. Because that’s what they do – it’s lifechanging,” she said.
Vision Zero is a West Yorkshire-wide campaign aimed at preventing these incidents.
Neil Hudson, of West Yorkshire Combined Authority, said Vision Zero used five “pillars of action”, each with a specific element but working in conjunction with each other.
These include education and awareness as a crucial element of behaviour, safe speeds with appropriate limits, for example around schools, safe roads around an area’s infrastructure, safe vehicles including councils; own fleets and post-collision response, review and care.
“It’s how we learn from collisions that occur and stop them occurring again,” he said.
The human cost is paramount but there is also a financial cost, with every fatal accident on Calderdale’s roads costing £2.25million through a range of things, including to the emergency services.
“That is a significant figure, and the human cost is far more,” he told councillors.
Calderdale responses include a winter “Brakes” speed campaign and a spring campaign which is coming up to promote drivers using lower speeds around schools.
And support for Operation Hawmill sees an established partnership with the police tackling offenders.