CAMPAIGNERS in Warwickshire have clocked up the miles to make a united stand against road death and injury.
Road safety partners and the public walked, ran, cycled or rode horses for a total of over 590 miles in support of the week-long RoadPeace Challenge.
During the week, 171 people took part – including local schools who walked every day, and one officer who completed a triathlon – in memory of those who have been killed on the county’s roads.
It culminated in a special event at Hartshill Hayes Country Park – the site of a memorial for road crash victims – at which 120 people joined Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Derbyshire’s road safety partnerships, Project EDWARD (Every Day Without A Road Death), The British Horse Society and road safety campaigners Patsy and Robbin Suffield for a guided walk. Together, they walked a total of 240 miles.
Warwickshire couple Robbin and Patsy lost their 18 year old son Neil when he was killed as a passenger along with four of his teenage friends in 1986. Since then, they have been campaigning for change to help prevent young driver crashes most recently as part of Forget-me-not Familes Uniting.
They said: “We were delighted to join the event at Hartshill Hayes Country Park and join like-minded people who are doing what they can to improve road safety for everyone and highlight the need for change.
“We met many other families sharing similar tragic stories and a common campaign through Forget-me-not Families Uniting to help prevent young driver crashes.”
To honour the 19 people killed on Warwickshire’s roads in 2022, Chris Lewis of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Warwickshire, James Luckhurst of Project EDWARD and several others ran 19 miles across Coventry and Warwickshire to join the Hartshill Hayes event.
Chris said: ‘It was a complete honour to contribute to the RoadPeace Challenge and very empowering to see so much support in Warwickshire. I am very grateful for that.
“We are determined that road victims are not forgotten and I and many others are determined to help those affected by tragic road crashes deal with their grief and pain. Today was a very memorable moment, but the battle must go on to make our roads safer everywhere’.
James added: “It was an honour to arrive at Hartshill Hayes on foot, having done our bit to remember the 19 lives lost on Warwickshire’s roads in 2022.
“Nothing we do can ever make good the devastation of losing a loved one in a road collision, but we can do our best to help change minds and promote safer road use across the county and beyond. Working together is the only way of achieving this.”
Warwickshire PCC Philip Seccombe said he was grateful to everyone who took part.
He said: “By joining the RoadPeace Challenge, we not only remember those we’ve lost but also re-dedicate ourselves to our work to make our roads safer.
“From educational programmes to improving road infrastructure and enforcing traffic laws, all partners are committed to making a difference and meeting our target to halve death and serious injury on Warwickshire’s roads by 2030.”
Visit www.roadpeace.org/roadpeace-challenge for more information about the RoadPeace Challenge, and www.warksroadsafety.org for more on Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership.
