Political will needed to tackle road deaths
Dear Editor
But why don’t we get angry about what has been happening over the last decade or so with road deaths?
In 2023 there were 1,654 road deaths this compared with 583 murders. So, I am three times more likely to be killed in a Road Traffic Collision than murdered and based on the figures from the last decade or so, about five times more likely to be killed by a vehicle when I am on the pavement than killed in a terrorist accident.
Over the last decade the number of road deaths has remained constant compared with a 45% drop over the previous decade, why? Might it be decisions that politicians have made, or chosen not to make? If Road Traffic Deaths had continued to drop over the last ten years at the same rate they had in the previous ten, then there would have been over 700 fewer deaths in 2023 alone, to say nothing of serious injuries. Apart from the human cost, with every fatal accident estimated to cost £2million think of the financial cost.
Yet with the evidence suggesting that 20 mph speed limits in Wales have saved lives and reduced property damage, Conservative Party MP and leadership candidate James Cleverly has promised to remove them.
We need the political will to continue to tackle road deaths, something the last Conservative government shamefully failed to do and the new Labour Government seems equally unenthusiastic.
John Boxall
Stark claim
Dear Editor
In your recent piece outlining the short-term measures to improve the safety of the Frome bypass, the stark claim from Somerset Council, that redesigning the road layout at the junction of the A361 and A362 was “unlikely to prevent collisions and fatalities” was repeated.
While appreciating that they may be better informed on the intricacies of road design and driver behaviour than the majority of us who have to use the road, given the magnitude of the issue, and the dreadful incidents that have happened to date, is it really too much to ask for a more enlightening response to explain how this seemingly unchallengeable claim was reached? Logic would suggest that any vehicle using the A361 in either direction would have to slow down for an improved junction and whatever other factors may have been involved, a reduction in speed would almost certainly have resulted in more positive outcomes from the recent incidents.
Malcolm Parker
How can we contact our new MP?
Dear Editor
I was very impressed by our new MP, Anna Sabine at the hustings held in Frome just before July’s election and hoped she’d match the local involvement which made our last Lib Dem MP, David Heath, so popular.
However, having waited in vain for replies to emails, I’m wondering exactly how to contact her at all. Does she have a constituency office, and if so, where is it? Has she held any surgeries yet? Has anyone in the Frome area managed to get to speak to her? Is there a local Lib Dem group that has any information on her whereabouts? If so, please let us know!
Hilary Lang
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