Council sets out ambitious target to halve road deaths and injuries toll

The target, based on data compiled between 2005 and 2009, is for the annual average of 248 deaths or serious injuries in the district falling to 124 by 2026.

In 2012, 15 people died and 206 were seriously injured on the district's roads, but the figure dropped to 13 fatalities and 177 major injuries the following year.

That trend was reversed last year, with the number of deaths rising to 14 and those suffering serious injuries jumping to 190, an overall increase of seven per cent.

The worst affected area was Bradford South, which saw three more fatal crashes and 17 more serious incidents than the previous year, an overall increase of 69 per cent.

Bradford East also saw an increase in those suffering serious injuries, up from 43 to 55, although Bradford West saw two fewer fatalities and ten fewer serious incidents.

There were two more fatalities in the Shipley area, and two fewer in Keighley, which saw only one death on the roads in 2014.

The Council's strategy for 2015 to 2018 has been drawn up with the assistance of West Yorkshire Police, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, and its own public health department.

Councillor Val Slater, Bradford Council's executive member responsible for transport and highways, said the new plan reinforced the authority's commitment to making the Bradford district a safer place to live, work, and travel.

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"The problem with statistics in issues like this is that one death can alter the figures significantly, so we are very much in the hands of fate," she said.

"It is obviously a very difficult issue, and one which we all need to commit to and play our part.

"It is not just a Council responsibility, drivers need to take more care and pedestrians need to be aware of their own safety.

"Everyone needs to work together as nobody wants to see anybody killed or injured on the district's roads."

The new plan will include educational campaigns for drivers on issues such as speed, using seatbelts, the use of mobile phones and driving while under the influence of drink or drugs.

Road safety education programmes will also be delivered for pre-school, primary, and secondary age children.

Amjad Malik's 15-year-old son, Saliq, died after the car in which he was a passenger went out-of-control at speed and hit a parked car, a lamppost and a wall, in Gilpin Street, Barkerend, Bradford, in September last year.

Mr Malik is campaigning to end the high death toll among passengers of young drivers, and said educating children should be the most important part of the new road safety campaign.

"The main thing is getting a realistic message across while children are in schools," he said.

"It needs to be a safety programme that demonstrates the actual impact their actions could have."

Cllr Slater said a key area of the plan would be strengthening links between Council area committees and local communities, allowing resources to be diverted to areas with the worst casualty rates.

"It's a bit of a change, as traditionally the resources have been distributed equally across all areas," she said.

"We are now looking at where people are in the most danger and focusing on that.

"This will mean some areas may miss out, but we need to divert resources, which are small in the grand scheme of things, to where there are the most incidents.

"This is a difficult message to get across, but the most dangerous areas need to be given higher priority."

Reducing road speeds is identified as a major initiative within the plan, which advocates the continued use of static and mobile speed camera sites, and the "enforcement of speed limits on local roads in response to the concerns of local residents."

Calderdale Council is rolling out a plan to enforce 20mph speed limits in all its residential areas, but Cllr Slater said the introduction of such zones across the Bradford district would continue to be prioritised by area committees and judged on a "case-to-case" basis.

"My personal opinion is that a blanket enforcement of 20mph zones would not work," she said.

"There would be little point introducing 20mph speed limits in areas where we do not have the resources to enforce them."

Last month, West Yorkshire Police said statistics from its Casualty Reduction Partnership showed that serious injuries and fatal collisions were up across the county, identifying there was an issue of "anti-social driving" in Bradford.

Chief Inspector Derek Hughes said the force was committed to its role in improving the safety of the district's roads.

"We have stringent targets to achieve, but we are confident that by working in partnership we can make improvements in reducing our casualty figures," he said.

"We regularly meet with other agencies to look for new and innovative ways to improve road safety and driver and pedestrian education.

"We also continue to operate consistently in both dealing with road traffic collisions and in an enforcement capacity to play our part in delivering improvements in safety on our roads."