South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership
News
26 Jul 2024
Remembering Road Victims
South Yorkshire is proud to announce its support for National Road Victim Month 2024 – an annual campaign highlighting the staggering number of people needlessly killed and injured in crashes on the UK’s roads.
The campaign, organised by RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims, aims to raise awareness about the fact that:
August was chosen to honour Diana Princess of Wales, who was killed in a road crash on 31 August 1997, and Bridget Driscoll, the UK’s first road crash victim, who was killed on 17 August 1896, in Crystal Palace, London.
At Bridget Driscoll’s inquest, the coroner reportedly said he hoped that “such a thing would never happen again.” Yet, tragically, since then UK road deaths have far exceeded half a million.
Nick Simmons, CEO of RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims, said: “A shocking five people are killed and 80 are seriously injured, on average, on the UK’s roads each day. These crashes are especially heartbreaking because most of them can be prevented.
“Road collisions shatter lives and families, leaving behind a trail of devastation. For more than 30 years, RoadPeace has supported countless families through unimaginable trauma and grief following a road crash. They didn’t ever think that they would be a crash victim, but tragically, the reality is that it can happen to anyone.
“We are very grateful to South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership for supporting National Road Victim Month 2024 and for helping RoadPeace to raise awareness about the many needless deaths and injuries that occur every single day on our roads.”
The campaign, organised by RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims, aims to raise awareness about the fact that:
- Every day in the UK, five people are killed and around 80 are seriously injured, on average, in road collisions
- Since records began in 1926, over 500,000 people have been killed in UK road crashes – far exceeding the 375,000 UK citizens killed due to warfare during the same period
- The routine daily activity of driving results in more fatalities annually in the UK than both murder and terrorism combined
- In 2022 alone, 1,766 people were reported killed and 141,560 people were reported injured in collisions on UK roads
August was chosen to honour Diana Princess of Wales, who was killed in a road crash on 31 August 1997, and Bridget Driscoll, the UK’s first road crash victim, who was killed on 17 August 1896, in Crystal Palace, London.
At Bridget Driscoll’s inquest, the coroner reportedly said he hoped that “such a thing would never happen again.” Yet, tragically, since then UK road deaths have far exceeded half a million.
Nick Simmons, CEO of RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims, said: “A shocking five people are killed and 80 are seriously injured, on average, on the UK’s roads each day. These crashes are especially heartbreaking because most of them can be prevented.
“Road collisions shatter lives and families, leaving behind a trail of devastation. For more than 30 years, RoadPeace has supported countless families through unimaginable trauma and grief following a road crash. They didn’t ever think that they would be a crash victim, but tragically, the reality is that it can happen to anyone.
“We are very grateful to South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership for supporting National Road Victim Month 2024 and for helping RoadPeace to raise awareness about the many needless deaths and injuries that occur every single day on our roads.”
