Call for more to be done to educate Bradford teens about consequences of danger driving

One Councillor said there was a “massive” problem in Bradford with young people losing their life because of their irresponsible driving.

And another suggested families of the young people who die in car crashes could be used to teach others the consequences of dangerous driving.

On Thursday members of Bradford Council’s Bradford West Area Committee were given an update on road safety education in the city.

In 2018, a single crash in this constituency claimed the lives of four young people, when a car crashed into a tree on Toller Lane.

Tributes left at the tree on Toller Lane

In the inquest, senior coroner Martin Fleming said the crash “tragically demonstrates how actions can shatter lives” and urged drivers to think about the potential impact of their actions when they get behind a wheel of a car.

Thursday's meeting came as road casualties are rising compared to the average seen before the Covid pandemic.

Many owere linked to excessive speed, impairment through drink and drugs, distraction, such as looking at a mobile phone, or not wearing seatbelts.

At Thursday’s meeting Becky James, Team Leader for Road Safety, told members of the work being done to get road safety messages out to as many people as possible.

This included visits to Bradford schools, social media adverts and radio campaigns.

She told members the road safety team aimed to visit primary schools in the area as often as they could.

At a meeting of the Council’s Corporate Scrutiny Committee last month Councillor Nazam Azam (Lab, City) raised the issue of young people driving while on drugs.

Councillor Nazam Azam (Image: Newsquest)

At Thursday’s meeting he said: “It is important that we don’t just give young people warnings about dangerous driving, but also drug driving.

“Compared to the rest of West Yorkshire, Bradford is much worse for injuries and deaths on the road.

“There needs to be hard hitting messages – we need to get to these young people in years 10 or 11.”

Mrs James said a joint campaign with emergency services, which will target secondary school children would be re-launching in September, when pupils go back.

Similar campaigns in the past have seen firefighters and police responders discuss the carnage they have encountered when called to reports of serious crashes.

Councillor Kamran Hussain (Lab, Toller) questioned if the road safety team could work with families of young people who have died as a result of dangerous driving.

He said: “Are we working with these families? They could share their experiences and feelings with youngsters so others don’t make the same mistakes.”

He referred to Amjad Malik, whose 15-year-old son, Saliq, died in 2014 when the driver of a car he was travelling in lost control while showing-off in Gilpin Street, Barkerend.

Since then Mr Malik has run groups with young people where he speaks of his loss and warned about the consequences of dangerous driving.

Cllr Hussain suggested the Council could support such campaigns.

He added: “It would demonstrate to young people how big a problem this can be, especially with this balloon culture going on.”

Mrs James said the Council had done work with families in the past, and that it would be something they could further explore in the future.

Andrew Smith, Highways Engineer, said the Council would be happy to have conversations with families of road victims.

Councillor Fozia Shaheen (Lab, Toller) said: “Who is the target audience we really need to be focusing on?

“How do we make sure we are getting to the right people at the right time?

“We also need to look at getting the message to parents and grandparents.”

Councillor Sarfraz Nazir (Lab, Manningham) questioned whether it was right for the Council’s road safety message to focus on primary schools.

He said: “You look at the young people who are dying on the roads, they are 16, 17, 18. They left primary school five or six years ago.

“We’re giving the message about staying safe and how to cross the road, but the next stage is learning the responsibility of being a young adult.

“The number of young people we lose because of irresponsible driving is massive.”

Mrs James said it was important to engage with primary school children. It was vital to give them road safety awareness before they make the transition to secondary school – and often begin travelling to school by themselves.

She added: “The youth service can be important in getting the message out to young people who might not be making the best choices. It is an area we need to tackle.”

Cllr Nazir said: “Is there a gap? I know we have to support children in becoming independent, but is there a gap in reaching out to people becoming young adults, who need to learn about personal actions and consequences?”

Mrs James replied: “There isn’t a gap, but it is an area where we could expand our reach a bit more.”