WARWICKSHIRE’S most dangerous rural road for young drivers has been named as part of a campaign in memory of a teenager who died in a rural car crash.
Research by the AA Trust has highlighted the A425 between Leamington and Southam as the riskiest road for young motorists, where 34 per cent of collisions involved a young driver.
The research forms part of the Trust’s Rural Young Drivers campaign to educate young people about the dangers of rural roads, and which roads in particular pose the greatest danger to them.
At an online webinar run by Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership, the message was reiterated by AA Trust Director Edmund King and Sharron Huddleston, whose daughter Caitlin was killed in a car crash in 2017 when she was just 18 years old.
Mr King said: “Our campaign delivers vital information to young drivers about the dangers they face on rural roads – specifically those in the areas they live.
“Knowledge of which rural roads in their locality pose the greatest threat to young drivers helps improve awareness of potential danger and encourages young drivers to take extra care. Many people underestimate the danger rural roads pose, but 71 per cent of fatal crashes involving a young driver happen on them.
“Working with Sharron to help deliver these valuable lessons has been truly humbling. She is an inspirational campaigner for road safety who tirelessly works to prevent any other parent going through the tragedy of losing a child.”
Caitlin was killed in 2017 in Cumbria, after the car she was travelling in as a front-seat passenger collided with an oncoming van.
Her friend the driver, who also died in the crash, had passed her driving test just four months earlier.
Neither driver was exceeding the speed limit, but Caitlin’s friend was travelling on an unfamiliar rural road in wet weather.
Mrs Huddleston has now made it her mission to help others avoid the devastation her family has faced since the tragic accident.
She said: “If only I had known the risks, I would not have let Caitlin get in the car that day.
“Had we been made aware just how many young people lose their lives every year in road crashes, we could have made an informed decision about whether to allow Caitlin to travel in a friend’s car.
“She only left the house 15 minutes before the crash occurred. I had just fastened the buttons on the back of Caitlin’s blouse for her and, thankfully, she turned around just before leaving home and asked me: ‘Do I look alright, Mam?’ They were her last words to me.
“Parents need to know the risks. Road collisions are the leading cause of death for young people worldwide. We need as many people as possible to know how at-risk young, novice drivers are when they get behind the wheel, particularly when carrying passengers of a similar age.
“You never think it will happen to you, but we are proof that it does.”
Visit www.warksroadsafety.org for more road safety advice.
