Green councillors are calling for safer roads in Bristol as over 100 people are seriously injured in crashes each year. Government figures show that over the past decade 75 people were killed on roads in Bristol.
And between 2017 and 2021, 36 people were killed and 636 seriously injured by vehicle collisions in Bristol, according to the Department for Transport. That’s an average of 134 people killed or seriously injured each year.
Reducing the number of road deaths will be debated by councillors at Bristol City Council today (July 11). The Greens have put forward a motion calling for the council to adopt a target of zero road deaths by 2030.
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Green Councillor David Wilcox said: “I’m bringing this motion because our city must be made safe for all road users — drivers, bus users, pedestrians and cyclists. People should not face risk of serious injury simply for moving around the city and the majority of injuries from collisions are avoidable — safe road design can prevent others.
“We don’t have to tolerate dozens of people being killed or left with life-changing injuries on our roads every year as a fact of life — there are things we can and must do about it. In my view the only acceptable target for deaths and serious injuries on our roads is zero. I hope all parties will support our motion.”
Cllr Wilcox added that possible changes to reduce the number of road deaths could include prioritising changes at the city’s 10 most dangerous junctions; installing average speed cameras at hotspots; and providing more school streets schemes with timed closures.
But the problem is not confined to Bristol. The Department for Transport figures show that road fatalities across Britain are increasing, from 1,558 in 2021 to 1,695 last year, and just last week in London a Land Rover was driven into a school end-of-term party, killing two eight-year-old girls.
The ‘Vision Zero’ approach of reducing road deaths, which began in Sweden, has been adopted by other English councils in London, Blackpool and Leeds. The approach has also been supported by the AA and RAC.
