Angelique Foster, Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner, has jointly approved funding for a raft of road safety initiatives to drive down serious injury and fatal collisions across the county and tackle speeding.
The Commissioner, working alongside partners on the Strategic Board of the Derby and Derbyshire Road Safety Partnership (DDRSP), has agreed investment in 11 proposals during 2024-25 to build on her success to make the county's road network safer.
The DDRSP funding amounts to a total of £216,624.85 and has been split between a mixture of interventions including extra enforcement patrols, increased training and education for drivers and motorcyclists, and proactive operations to tackle speeding and other unlawful driving behaviour.
It includes funding overtime for additional patrols to be conducted by Roads Policing Officers in the northwest of the county to target speeding motorcyclists using the picturesque routes of Derbyshire during the summer months. The project would see additional patrols across 31 weekends between March and October at a cost of almost £34k.
It also includes funding worth more than £41k to Derbyshire Constabulary to deliver another round of BikeSafe sessions to motorcyclists over the next 12 months.
BikeSafe is a national initiative that works with riders in a relaxed environment to raise awareness of the importance and value of gaining accredited post-test training. BikeSafe workshops involve completion of an e-learning package before a three-hour classroom theory session and then an observed ride with an advanced, police graded motorcyclist. In 2023, 251 riders attended a full BikeSafe workshop in Derbyshire.
At the DDRSP Strategic Board Meeting this week, partners agree to fund workshops every weekend for 38 weeks from March 2024, deploying two dedicated police motorcyclists each Saturday and Sunday.
Police and Crime Commissioner Angelique Foster said: "Road safety is a real concern for all of us - unfortunately still too many people die or are seriously injured on our roads. We have made significant improvements to the way we tackle speeding and dangerous driving in Derbyshire over the last few years, but we need to do more. This is why this is, and will remain, a key priority for me.
"Since I was elected, fatal collisions have fallen by 22 per cent. This is testament to substantial investment in technology, education, enforcement and equipment to challenge high-risk driving behaviour and to bring those who use our roads recklessly with no thought of others to justice.
"Every life lost, every person injured on our roads, is a tragedy and therefore we must not stop or become complacent. The investment level of these projects is significant and demonstrates our commitment to taking road safety seriously, acting on the public's concerns and taking every possible action to reduce risk on our roads."
During the meeting, DDRSP members also approved funding for Driving Safer for Longer Information Sessions and Mature Driver Assessment. The information sessions, which have been in offered since 2016, will continue to be run by Derbyshire County Council for residents aged 50+ to give drivers advice and coping strategies prior to problems developing and seriously affecting their driving ability and confidence as they become older. The assisted drive will be completed in the individual's own vehicle for a maximum of up to two hours.
In other projects supported, the DDRSP approved funding for voluntary and enforced car child safety seat checks at supermarket car parks between April/May and October 2024, resources for the county council's Travel Smart campaign in schools to discourage vehicle parking around primary schools and to encourage active and sustainable modes of transport and a separate initiative to install new road safety signage at key locations where there have been frequent reports of ‘close passes' to improve driver awareness of cyclists on the roads.
Funding will also cover the recruitment of a new Road Safety Officer for Derbyshire County Council to deliver road safety educational and training initiatives while £30k has been agreed to fund 450 officer hours in proactive enforcement campaigns led by the National Police Chiefs' Council in 2024 in Derbyshire including five Operational Tramlines - the safety campaign run in partnership with National Highways using a loaned unmarked HGV tractor unit to patrol the road network for drivers using their mobile phones or not wearing seatbelts and other traffic offences.