AS part of Brake’s Road Safety Week 2023, Essex’s Head of Road Policing has laid out key priorities, in tackling the issues of speed and dangerous driving.

Road Safety Week takes place between 19-25 November, with a different theme each year and will include a variety of activities and interventions, across the county, including “mini days of action” at local schools and Vision Zero enforcement days. 

This year’s campaign is “Let’s talk about speed,” which aims to get people talking about speeding, why there are some who disregard restrictions and what happens when we speed. 

In the last year in Essex, speeding was the contributory factor for three fatalities, and 53 serious injuries.

Adam Pipe, Head of Roads Policing, said: “We’re working with the Safer Essex Roads Partnership to make roads in Essex safe for everyone, to improve road safety across the county and reduce the number of fatalities on our roads. Last year, 48 people died as a result of fatal collisions, but through the Vision Zero campaign, our ambition is to have no road deaths by 2040 or sooner.

“We’re prioritising road safety by identifying offenders whose poor and dangerous driving presents a risk to other road users and focussing on those vehicles that are unroadworthy, to take them off the road and prevent harm to our communities. We’re also working with the vehicle industry to improve car safety.

“Each day, my officers uphold the law and tackle dangers on the road that threaten road safety across our county and contribute to fatal or seriously injured collisions – drink or drug driving, speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, or using a mobile phone whilst driving collectively, they’re known as the Fatal Four.

“We’d encourage drivers to support our work and consider their and their passengers’ safety each time they get behind the wheel”.

For more information on Vision Zero and how you can play your part, visit: www.saferessexroads.org/visionzero