Public: We Want Road Safety Attitudes To Improve
The people of Dyfed-Powys want road users to improve their attitudes towards safety. They have told Police and Crime Commissioner Christopher Salmon that the outlook of individuals on issues such as speed, drink, mobile phones and seatbelts needs to get better.
He will use their views as he rolls out a new £335,000 road safety programme. In the first six months of this year more than 600 people were killed or injured on Dyfed-Powys’s roads.
Mr Salmon said: “To save lives and reduce the number of injuries, we need to educate all types of road user; the public say attitudes towards safety must get better.
“Too many people die or are seriously hurt on our roads; I want to change that.”
The public views came in a survey which Mr Salmon ran this summer. More than 800 people answered a total of around 10,000 questions on subjects including road safety. Results suggest a preference for activity around the region to improve attitudes (68%). Fewer people (32%) wanted a focus on road skills training.
The public’s most preferred methods to receive news of road safety activity included the local media (31%), social media (27%) and email newsletters (21%).
Mr Salmon said: “I and Dyfed-Powys Police continue to work hard to preserve life but the public also have a great role to play in keeping all of us safe. “I ask drivers, bikers and cyclists to consider the importance of road safety. The people best able to affect the safety of road users – weather and road surface included – are road users themselves. One death is one too many – I urge caution and care by all.”
Mr Salmon is considering bids from groups eager to put his £335,000 Road to Safety fund to good use. He said: “I’ve had some great ideas on keeping road users safe across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Powys. I must now choose the best. My Road to Safety scheme will improve the lives of our communities by reducing the number of road casualties.”
The successful bidder and an outline of their Road to Safety initiative is due to be announced before the New Year.