News and Events
Here you’ll find the latest news on all the work that Merseyside Road Safety and our partners are doing to increase road safety across Merseyside.
For a live updates you can follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
If you’d like more information about an event, you can get in touch via our contact page.
Driving for Work Seminar – Police Investigation and Law
Did you know that driving for work is the most common work related health and safety risk? If your business requires staff to drive as part of their work duties then the latest session from Wirral’s Road Safety Team is definitely for you. The Driving for Work seminar, funded by the Road Safety Trust, will be led by key speakers from the health and safety industry, road safety specialists, police and collision investigation experts.
The FREE session will provide vital information and tips to help you:
- Keep your employees as safe as possible when driving · Help you to avoid fines and prosecution · Understand the common risks around driving to or forwork
- Understand the latest legislation around driving and health and safety for your organisation
- Get an understanding of incident investigation and the prosecution process
GUEST SPEAKERS
Inspector Paul Bennet (Retired)
Collision Investigation Unit, Central Motorway Group
Paul has 25 years of Road Policing experience. His team deals with fatal accidents and 189 serious incidents each year. He has helped professionalise road death investigation including pioneering family support. Many of the cases he has worked on have included public figures and his work has meant dealing the press and media.
Surekha Gollapudi | Senior Associate | EHS | Eversheds Sutherland
Surekha is a Senior Associate in the Environment, Health and Safety team of Eversheds Sutherland’s Litigation and Dispute Management Group.
Specialising in corporate criminal defence, regulatory compliance and enforcement and non-contentious compliance advice.
Surekha has experience in defending prosecutions following work related fatalities and serious injuries, conducting reviews of safety management systems and representing interested persons at inquests. Surekha deals with a variety of regulators including the HSE, local authorities, the Environment Agency, the Office of Rail Regulation.
Andrew Drewary FCILT MAIRSO AMRSGB
Andrew is a multi-award winning road safety specialist.
He has managed the investigation/analysis process for over 37,000 road traffic collisions. He provides pro-active, innovative and inter-active solutions to educate employers and employees about road safety and driver health. Thereby empowering people to make informed decisions before and when they drive.
Tuesday 24th September 2019, 9.30am to 1.00pm Williamson Art Gallery & Museum, Slatey Road, Birkenhead, Wirral, CH43 4UE
To book a free place for the session please:
Email roadsafety@wirral.gov.uk
A state-of-the-art pedestrian crossing has been installed at a busy crossroads in Wirral to improve road safety.
The junction at Moreton Road/Old Greasby Road/Ford Road/Arrowe Park Road has been undergoing significant refurbishment. The improvement also includes the traffic lights which are over 30 years-old. After careful consideration and research, Wirral Council decided that an advanced diagonal pedestrian crossing would be beneficial to the safety of all road users.
The refurbishment will greatly improve safety at the junction for residents, pedestrians and particularly local school children.
Councillor Liz Grey, Wirral Council’s cabinet member for Environment and Climate Change commented, “A diagonal crossing at the junction in Upton will play a vital role in keeping children, attending the surrounding schools, including Upton Hall and St. Joseph’s as well as Overchurch Infants and Juniors, safe on their journey to and from school.
She added “As children reach secondary school, they can be more vulnerable. This is often when they learn to travel to school by themselves. This crossing along with other measures will help support them as they develop their independence.”
The benefits of this type of crossing mean that pedestrians can now safely cross two arms of the junction at once, providing a more efficient crossing system. The junction will provide safer crossing for young people from the surrounding schools, who need to reach their bus services and will also benefit other road users.
The diagonal crossing is the second introduced on Wirral, with only three across Merseyside. The first is located at Balls Road/Oxton Road/Woodchurch Road junction.
The new crossing in Upton will, however, be the first in the borough to feature a ‘countdown to red man’ timer. This pedestrian clearance feature warns pedestrians of the length of time they have left to cross safely.
Councillor Grey commented: “The funding, awarded from Liverpool City Region for the Combined Authority Integrated Transported Block for 2018-19, has enabled us to implement an advanced crossing that will feature a countdown timer to benefit the community with even safer crossing.”
Funding for this new crossing was awarded in support of the Liverpool City Region’s Transport Plan for Growth.
We advise residents, road users and parents of children at the surrounding schools to watch and share our short video on how to safely use the new crossing.
Things to remember when using a diagonal crossing:
- Press the button and wait for the green man to be displayed.
- When the green man is displayed for pedestrians, the traffic lights at the junction will be red for all traffic in all directions
- Pedestrians should not start to cross the road once the green man signal goes off
- Countdown timers tell pedestrians how long is left to complete crossing the junction before traffic starts to move again
- Remember to move away from the crossing once you have used it so that others can also cross the road safely
The first diagonal crossing was funded by the new developer of the Lidl store adjacent to the crossing at Balls Road/Oxton Road/ Woodchurch Road junction.
Over 100 people attended a special remembrance service in the Lady Chapel of Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral (Sat 31 August) to honour those who have been bereaved or injured through road crashes.
The service, organised by the North West branch of RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims, took place on the 22nd anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Labour Councillor Anna Rothery, Lord Mayor Elect and Liverpool’s first black lord mayor, lost her father in a road crash and spoke movingly during the service. She pledged her support and help to RoadPeace to reduce the number of road crashes in the region. Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury and Labour MP for Bootle, Peter Dowd, also attended the service. Representatives of the emergency and support services were also in attendance.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has reported there were 1,782 road deaths on Britain’s roads in 2018, with 23 across Merseyside. Cheshire has seen the largest increase in road deaths – 46 in 2018 compared to 22 in 2017.
The congregation heard from Merseyside Police Chief Inspector Andy Rankine and RoadPeace campaign and press manager Victoria Lebrec, who lost her leg after she was run over by a lorry when cycling to work in 2014.
Road crash victims remembered
Lesley Williams read two poems she had written to mark the 19th anniversary of her daughter, Dominique’s death 10 years ago this week en route to Creamfields.
Those attending placed white roses and photographs in the Lady Chapel of the cathedral to remember loved ones during the event. At the end of the service the congregation heard from the Reverend Barry Parker who held the first ever remembrance service in Liverpool for road crash victims 23 years ago.
After the service, five doves were released outside the cathedral, representing the five people killed on Britain’s roads every day. Petra Kendall-Raynor released a dove in memory of her father Thomas Kendall who was killed when crossing the road as a pedestrian. She said, “Road Safety is too often overlooked in society. Thought provoking services like this one not only help us remember loved ones but encourage us to do more to prevent any more needless injury and loss of life on our roads.
Dove release participants, Lord Mayor Elect, Anna Rothery, Steve Booth, David Midmer, Petra Kendall-Raynor, Michelle Deary
RoadPeace trustee and event organiser Pauline Fielding said: “I would like to thank everybody who made today’s service possible. Those who are bereaved or injured through a road crash are all different but we have one thing in common, our lives have been changed forever, but we can and do support each other.”
Support
A family who travelled from London to attend the service said, “This is the first time that we felt we were not alone in our situation and it was good to meet others who actually understood what we are going through”. Another said, “Thank you so much for welcoming us into this supportive community. It really meant a lot and helped us so much in what is still a difficult time for us. The support was just amazing!”
Information for Road Crash Victims
- RoadPeace is the national charity for road crash victims. It is an independent charity, providing practical information, emotional support and advocacy to those affected by road crashes. It also campaigns for justice for road crash victims and for road danger reduction policies.
- Department for Transport Statistics, Reported Road Casualties Great Britain Main Results 2018
- August is National Road Victim Month. RoadPeace is campaigning for an end to the language of denial. The term “accident” exemplifies society’s tolerance to road danger. Too many still do not hold drivers accountable for their actions, implying instead it was a matter of chance. By using the word “accident” society is saying that there is nothing that can be done about these deaths and injuries. They are an acceptable pay off for having motor vehicles. Planes and trains do not have accidents, they crash. Changing language is vital to change attitudes. See www.roadpeace.org for links to the campaign.
For more information contact: RoadPeace Office 0207 733 1603, www.roadpeace.org
Photo by – Twin Vision
This year’s Merseyside Road Safety event at the Southport Flower Show was a great success. With a packed marquee and so many visitors with great questions, even the rain failed to dampen everyone’s spirits!!
The Southport Flower Show is a great opportunity to engage with road users from different age groups. People have time to browse resources and chat. All our Merseyside local councils, fire service and police came together to encourage people to be safer on the roads.
Our partners at St. Helens Council set up their incredibly popular reflex tester (BATAK). Visitors were invited to test their reflexes by hitting a series of buttons that light up in random sequences in 60 seconds. The test is then performed a second time while being talked to by a member of the road safety team. It’s a fantastic demonstration that shows what a bit of chit-chat does to slow down our reflexes and highlights the risks of being distracted whilst driving.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue and Merseyside Police Specials teamed up to be on hand for all four days. They gave out resources and delivered our important road safety message. We share the roads, we share the responsibility.
If you managed to snap any great photos of the day we’d love you to share them with us on Twitter #mrsp
This Friday we and lots of our partners got together to be a powerful presence at the Academy of St. Nicholas’s free fun day.
Ourselves, Mersey Fire and Rescue, Merseytravel and Merseyside Police were all on site engaging with all ages and backgrounds.
We spent a lot of time with Merseyfire learning how they educate all ages with the compassionately donated resource of a tragically crashed car.
The level of detail given about the circumstances and consequences of the crash was tailored each time to be age appropriate. It was obvious that being up close to, and seeing the inside of, a completely wrecked vehicle updated people’s perception about what they thought it would be like in a collision.
It was fantastic to be able to talk to people about their safety on the roads from so many different perspectives. We all worked together with the Merseyside community to make it clear: we share the roads, and we share the responsibility.
May ‘19
We teamed up with Wirral Council at the OVO Energy Tour event in Hamilton Square this month to host a #SharedSpace campaign.
With a brightly coloured tent, free safety gear and educational resources for people to take away, our ambassadors were kept incredibly busy (helped by fantastic weather).
The big showstopper was our bike powered smoothie maker! All the children, and a few teens, wanted a go. It was a great opportunity, not only to give a boost to their love of cycling, but also talk to them informally about how they can stay safe when they’re on their bikes.
Our ‘Keep Your Distance’ mat was out, emphasising to drivers how much space a cyclist needs on the road – and quite a few people were surprised.
The key message that we promoted – and will promote wherever we go – was that we all share the roads, and so we all share the responsibility.
One step closer to a safer Merseyside!
The Road Safety Team have been at Mount Primary School in Wallasey this week to try out the new Kids Court initiative.
Teaming up with Merseyside Police, the Merseyside PCC and Wirral Council, we gave the power of keeping the roads around a school safe to its students.
Merseyside Police were present from 8.00 in the morning to tackle the issue of anti-social parking. However, on this particular morning, drivers caught exceeding the speed limit were given an unexpected choice.
Offenders were given the option of either being issued the standard fine and points, or attending the kids court. Accompanied by officers, drivers were taken to the school asked and explain themselves to the panel of waiting year 6 pupils.
The children asked the drivers if they knew what the speed limit by the school was, and why they were putting children’s lives in danger by speeding.
ALL drivers interviewed by the kids court said they found the experience daunting. They said that it had made them think seriously about their actions and their driving in general. Several drivers also said they found the process upsetting.
The Mount Primary School pupils were outstanding in the role of judges. Throughout the experiment they remained calm whilst maintaining eye contact and refusing to be swayed by the drivers excuses.
The Partnership’s Vision for Merseyside
The Merseyside Road Safety Partnership’s vision is to make our roads a safer environment for everyone. We believe this is a contributing factor to the successful growth of the Merseyside Region.
With all road traffic collisions, there is a significant emotional cost and considerable effect on all those involved and connected. In addition, there is a great financial cost and burden on the National Health Service (NHS) and other organisations.
Our target is to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured to 400 by 2020, and to keep on reducing it into the future. One person killed or seriously injured on our roads is one too many.
In order to reduce the number of casualties on roads in Merseyside, and improve progress on achieving our target, we focus on four specific road user groups:
• Adult Pedestrians (aged 26-59)
• Pedal cyclists
• Motorcyclists
• Senior Road Users (age 60+)
However, that doesn’t mean we exclude ongoing activity in other areas. For example, reducing child pedestrian casualties is still a priority, and we continuously monitor issues around the region as they happen in order to re-focus our energy if and when patterns change.
This month we are focusing on one of our road safety initiatives Engage Driving, aimed at young people aged 17-24 wanting to learn to drive. We talked with Engage Driving Instructor, Jane Rooney and got her take on what the benefits are of choosing Engage Driving.
Jane Rooney
Engage Driving instructor
Q: Why do you feel we need Engage, why would a young driver benefit from it?
A: We are trained to give our young drivers the knowledge and confidence to drive safely. We tackle lots of different subjects like peer pressure, common road issue scenarios and making the right speed choices, to name but a few. Giving them the confidence to not only pass their test but also be a safe and courteous driver.
The training meetings we attend give us a more cognitive insight on how to develop ways of thinking, which we pass on to our pupils. The emphasis is always on promoting road safety both in how we teach and the information we provide.
Q: Do you have to do any additional training to become an Engage Driving Instructor?
A: Yes, I did a Client Centred Learning (CCL) course with Ian Edwards. All Engage Driving instructors are sent on this course. It made me realise I needed to change the way I approached driver training. When I joined Engage I was a PDI (Potential Driving Instructor). I remember feeling, will I have the confidence to take that leap in to Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) status. But the staff were really helpful and on hand to answer any questions I had. I’m glad to say I am now a fully qualified ADI.
Q: When you discuss ‘Distraction’ and ‘Fatigue’ with the learners, do they give you feedback to the information?
A: Yes, all Engage Driving ADIs receive resources to use with their learners, including video modules. We ask learners a series of questions relating to ‘distractions when driving’ and watch the short video. The pupils learn so much from this. As an example, a good percentage of them don’t think using ‘bluetooth’ is a distraction as you’re not holding the phone. These discussions help them think twice about the meaning of distraction and take a different view about using a phone while driving.
‘we tackle lots of different subjects like peer pressure, common road issue scenarios and making the right speed choices’.
I asked one pupil what a distraction is? He answered ‘My Mum.’
I ask how is your mum a distraction? He said, ‘When I am watching TV and my mum shouts my name, my attention is on what mum is wanting.’
‘How is this distracting you?’ I asked.
He said, ‘I have to listen to what Mum wants and miss what’s said on TV.’
What could distract you when driving? He said, ‘Phone’.
So how can you prevent this? He replied, ‘Turn if off, put out of reach.’
When you ask the question in an everyday scenario and then bring their thinking round to driving they understand more fully the safety issues.
‘Fatigue’ is discussed in the same way as ‘distraction’, and not many of them truly understand what it is. They don’t comprehend the dangers of driving fatigued until we have watched the video and discussed it.
Q: How has being an Engage Driving instructor benefitted you?
A: It’s helped me expand my existing skills, given me more confidence and a massive insight into how to teach pupils. I feel assured that I am teaching young drivers to be safe on the road and to understand that there are real consequences to their actions.
If you’re looking for driving lessons or your interested in becoming an Engage Driving instructor click here to find out more.
How we keep you safe requires what’s called the four ‘E’s. Enforcement. Engagement & Education. Engineering.
This month we focus on Engagement & Education. Whether you drive, walk or ride in Merseyside chances are you’ve had an encounter with another road user. Part of the Safer Roads Team’s job is to work closely with the community to educate and encourage all age groups to keep safe on our roads.
We talk with as many people as possible by visiting schools, colleges, businesses and community groups. At public events such as the Knowsley and Southport Flower Shows we pass out lots of different resources and give practical advice and demonstrations on road safety.
We have specific initiatives to help young drivers, senior drivers, senior road users and cyclists. But we are here to help and support every type of road user in Merseyside. Contact us here if you need help, or send us a direct message via Facebook or Twitter.
Click here for more info on the ways we keep you safe.
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