LEADERS of organisations from around Devon and Cornwall have unveiled a ‘vision zero’ road safety strategy aimed at dramatic reductions in the number of people killed or seriously injured on the region’s roads.

Emergency services, local authorities, NHS trusts and charities are among the 19 members of the South West Peninsular Road Safety Partnership (SWPRSP) who have agreed to a bold ambition: to achieve a highway system free of fatalities and serious injuries by 2040.

An interim target to reduce the numbers of people killed and seriously injured on the roads in Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly by 50% in the next decade has also been set.

The road safety partnership’s chairman is Alison Hernandez, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. She said: “Between 2009 and 2018 534 people died and 6,272 were seriously injured on the roads in Devon and Cornwall. The trauma, loss and devastation that these numbers illustrate cannot be overstated.

“We believe that no one should be killed or seriously injured as a consequence of using our road network and we have a moral duty to work together to preserve life, prevent harm and make our communities safer.

“We recognise that a radical step change is required to make this happen. The only way to make progress is through renewed efforts to work together to encourage better driving practices, educate specific road user groups about the potential dangers involved in roads use, develop better responses to road traffic collisions and, critically, engage the public in being part of the solution.”

Certain groups of road user are disproportionally represented in roads collision data: young drivers (16 to 24), older drivers over 60, cyclists, motorcyclists, pedestrians and business drivers – and there will be specific strategies to target these.