Cllr. David Thomas: Excessive speed to blame for so many deaths

There doesn’t seem to be a day that goes by whereby I don’t see in local news about a road traffic collision on one of the south west’s roads. Whether it involves a car, motorcyclist, or pedestrian, it has tragic consequences.
The council are members of the South West road safety partnership Vision Zero, which is working hard to reduce fatal and serious collisions in Devon and Cornwall. This week along with the others in the partnership we are taking part in National Road Safety Week.
In 2022, there were unfortunately 229 reported casualties from road traffic collisions on Torbay’s roads. Sadly, that included three fatalities, 46 people seriously injured and 180 people slightly injured. The biggest cause of road traffic collisions was driver behaviour, such as excessive speed and poor judgement.
During this awareness week, we are asking all drivers and riders to think about their speed each time they get behind the wheel of their car or bike. We’ve probably all at some point driven over the speed limit, but what is it that made us speed in the first place? Perhaps we don’t think it’s a crime, everyone else is doing it, so why can’t I. A few miles above the limit won’t make a difference, I’m running a bit late or I’m behind on my delivery schedule. Whatever the reason, every time the speed limit is broken, or you are driving too fast for the road condition, you put yourself and other road users at risk.
It’s been calculated that the cost to society for a collision, in Torbay alone, is a staggering £26million. As well as reducing the speed in which we travel around the Bay, what else can we do to make Torbay’s roads safer? Local communities can set up their own Community Speed Watch (CSW) group to help educate drivers and monitor speeding in their local area. We are implementing a range of initiatives to encourage drivers to slow down, especially outside schools and in residential areas.
We are also educating young drivers and pedestrians with specially designed road safety lessons – one of which I had the pleasure to attend earlier this week. Anyone interested in finding out more and setting up a CSW group in their local area can do so at roadsafety.devon -cornwall.police.uk/community- speed- watch-csw/
Another safety awareness campaign we fully support is the important campaign 16 Days of Action. This is an annual international campaign that starts on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls. It runs until December 10, which is Human Rights Day.
This year’s theme is Support to Report and I would encourage anyone who feels they may be in an unhealthy relationship to take those first steps towards making a change. Reporting doesn’t just mean reporting to the police. It could mean talking to a trusted friend or family member, GP, employer, faith leader or a local support service. It can also mean speaking to one of the many charities or organisations who are trained at helping people in these situations.
There are lots of events and activities taking place over the 16 days, including library drop-in sessions, flashmobs, radio takeovers and a conference which will explore how we can work together to end domestic violence and sexual abuse in Torbay.
We’re doing lots to keep women and girls safe in Torbay. One of these is the recently launched Safety of Women at Night Charter where we invited licensed premises to make a pledge to prioritise the safety of women at their venues.
We’re also working with Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services to support Shout Up! Torbay, a training programme for staff in Torquay pubs and bars. This will enable them to identify and stamp out sexual harassment of female customers. For further information about local services supporting people experiencing domestic abuse and/or sexual violence, visit the Are you OK? website.