BRADFORD Council has backed the Telegraph & Argus campaign for safer driving, with one councillor saying the “carnage” on the district’s roads had to stop.

At a meeting of the full council tonight members unanimously agreed to endorse the T&A’s Stop The Danger Drivers campaign, which was started last November.

Although individual councillors have supported the campaign in the past, it is the first time the authority as a whole has backed it.

A motion calling for councillors to endorse the campaign was tabled by Councillor Dale Smith, a former Lord Mayor of Bradford.

Addressing the meeting at Bradford City Hall, Cllr Smith (Con, Wharfedale) held up copies of the T&A, including front page stories about fatal crashes over the past 12 months.

He spoke of recent experiences he has had on the road where he witnesses dangerous driving, saying: “I am sure you have all had similar experiences.

“You have to only stand outside Hall Ings to see it. How people drive so dangerously so close to a police station is unbelievable.”

Cllr Smith pointed out that earlier in the meeting there had been two petitions from residents of both Frizinghall Road in Frizinghall and Netherlands Road in Wibsey, calling for traffic calming measures due to dangerous driving.

Cllr Smith added: “How people can go so fast is beyond comprehension. This is a real issue and I believe something must be done.

“This carnage on our roads has to stop.”

The T&A campaign led to West Yorkshire Police starting Operation Steerside to target dangerous drivers.

Council leader, Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, said: “No-one can say they haven’t been moved when they hear about the deaths of people on our roads.

“You see every time you drive past a lamppost with flowers on it, flowers that are put there year-on-year, to know what constant grief families must feel.

“I wholeheartedly support this motion. Operation Steerside recently stopped its 5,000th danger driver, think of the number of accidents or event deaths this has prevented.

Councillors unanimously voted to support the motion to endorse the T&A campaign and support West Yorkshire Police’s efforts to implement the law of the road.