Suzy Stride, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Harlow, is supporting national Road Safety Week, 18-24 November, by calling on the Government and people in Harlow to ‘tune into road safety’.

Government figures released in November showed that the number of motorcycling and cycling casualties on our roads has risen in comparison to the same period in 2012. Cyclist casualties rose 12%, while motorcyclist casualties were up 4%.

Road Safety Week, coordinated by the road safety charity Brake, is the UK’s leading event to promote safer road use. This year Road Safety Week focuses on preventing tragic collisions caused by driver distraction, such as mobile phone use, and will be supported by a week of increased police enforcement coordinated by the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Alongside Brake, Ms Stride is pressing the Government to focus on road safety and make the issue a national priority.

Suzy Stride, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Harlow, said:

“This Road Safety Week I am calling on people in Harlow to tune into road safety. If a driver is distracted at the wheel they are 2-3 times more likely to crash, potentially causing a serious injury or even killing someone.

“I also want government to put the most vulnerable first and reverse their out of touch decision to axe targets to cut the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads.

“After years of relentless pressure to improve safety on our roads, recent increases in cyclist and motorcyclist casualties are concerning.

“Roads are shared spaces and road safety is everyone’s responsibility. But strong leadership by government is absolutely crucial to focus minds and attention on the issue. Unfortunately since 2010, the Tory-led government have axed targets to reduce deaths and serious injuries and cut front line policing vital for safety enforcement.

The Government need to rethink their approach to roads and make sure this shared space is safe for all.”