Road safety at top of priority list for region's leaders
A joint statement has been released by leaders from across the region around road safety.
The Mayor of the West Midlands, Transport for West Midlands, West Midlands Police, the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Birmingham City Council, and the Mayor's Walking and Cycling Commissioner have released a unified message around ensuring the safety of all road users and how recent events have shaped their thinking.
The message started by stating work was currently taking place and the outrage felt by many at violent acts on roads.
It read: "In the West Midlands we are working towards an environment where no-one is killed or seriously injured on our roads.
"This is a challenging but imperative goal that can only be achieved through relentless partnership working.
"In recent weeks, several unacceptable acts of road violence have led to needless deaths and serious injuries on our roads.
"The outrage felt by communities is clear and justified."
The next part spoke of what work was going on to with partners across the region and the next steps taken at the highest level.
It said: "Partners from across the region have been working around the clock to reflect on our approach and ensure we are doing all we can to tackle the kind of dangerous behaviour that blights our communities.
"This includes a series of Gold Command meetings chaired by Assistant Chief Constable Mike O’Hara as part of the immediate response involving partners and an intelligence-led approach to enforcement.
"On Tuesday, July 18, the Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, chaired a meeting with partners including Craig Guildford, Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, Simon Foster, the Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands, Anne Shaw, executive director at Transport for West Midlands, Mark Shelswell, assistant director of highways and infrastructure and Adam Tranter, the Mayor’s cycling and walking commissioner."
The meeting on July 18 saw a list of priorities and plans agreed, starting with a new operation which focusses on enforcement of rules on the road through intelligence-led operations and hot spot enforcement.
A second team on the West Midlands Police Road Harm Prevention Team will bolster efforts to enforce against people who endanger vulnerable road users.
In addition, two new road crime teams will work day and night to target the most dangerous of drivers.
Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) will launch a new high-profile road safety campaign supported and co-funded by each partner.
West Midlands Police will grow capacity for third party reporting, giving communities power to submit dash cam and helmet cam footage to support Police in tackling anti-social driving in their areas.
West Midlands Police will equip and upskill local policing teams to tackle road safety in their communities, with a particular focus on anti-social driving and speeding.
The Police and Crime Commissioner will allocate a portion of the upcoming Safer Streets 5 funding to be used to tackle anti-social use of roads.
Partners are working together to increase the number of average speed cameras across the network to tackle speeding on the most dangerous roads.
The message concluded by speaking of targets for West Midlands Police and plans by Transport for West Midlands around road safety.
It said: "Overall, West Midlands Police will work towards a significant increase in speed enforcement from 2024 in order that compliance with speed limits improves.
"In September, TfWM will launch a revised Road Safety Strategy with the goal of a 50 per cent reduction in the number of people killed and seriously injured on our road network by the end of 2030; this is a pathway to our ultimate target of Vision Zero.
"TfWM’s and Birmingham’s new Road Safety strategies, due this winter, will be aligned to tackle this together.
"These activities will complement the medium and long-term work in developing and delivering schemes which support active travel and improve the safety of vulnerable road users, in line with stated aims in the TfWM Local Transport Plan and the city council’s Birmingham Transport Plan."
