SERIOUS collision rates caused by speeding motorists on Barnsley’s roads have sparked an urgent appeal from leaders in the town - after it was revealed incidents attributed to excess speed have climbed by a fifth in a year.
Figures from the Department for Transport reveal there were 509 road casualties in Barnsley in 2023 - an 18 per cent rise from 430 the year before - while nine people lost their lives.
However, the majority of last year’s collisions involved young drivers in the 18 to 24 bracket, which resulted in 31 inexperienced motorists sustaining life-threatening injuries.
Road Safety Week, organised by charity Brake, aims to reduce the number of people killed or injured as the result of a collision and it’s involved Barnsley schools this week.( Its theme centred on excess speed and members of the South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership (SYSRP) are helping to highlight the dangers of excessive and inappropriate speed.( South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “I fully support Brake’s campaign which ultimately comes down to saving lives on our roads.( “Our communities deserve to feel safe which will only happen if we can put an end to the illegal, reckless and irresponsible behaviour associated with excess speed.( “I am proud to be part of this conversation and I encourage all road users to do the right thing and travel to the speed limit.
“Education is a key part of our work across the Safer Roads Partnership to reduce the number of people killed or hurt in a collision.( “Tragically, many people have lost their lives or been seriously injured because of a road traffic collision.( “This is simply not acceptable - speed limits are there for a reason and the only way we will ever prevent unnecessary grief and loss, is if we all take responsibility for safe and legal road use.”
Barnsley Council’s ambition is to reduce the number of fatalities by at least 50 per cent by 2030, with a longer aim of zero people killed or seriously inured by 2050.
Through the ‘Vision Zero’ strategy, members of the partnership deliver road safety education programmes, casualty reduction travel schemes, investments in road improvements and public engagement through behaviour change campaigns.
Coun James Higginbottom, cabinet spokesperson for environment and highways, added: “Road safety is everyone’s responsibility which is why it is important to draw attention to dangerous behaviours on our roads.
“While this campaign targets younger drivers, all drivers can take the messages included in the videos and apply them to their own driving behaviour, whether that is avoiding distractions, not driving under the influence of drugs or drink and not speeding on our roads.
“We all want Barnsley’s roads to be safer for everyone who uses them, and we hope that the campaign, alongside our wider road safety schemes, will contribute to a reduction in those killed or seriously injured on our roads.”( Road Safety Week - which is Brake’s biggest campaign - has resulted in staff working alongside the council and South Yorkshire Police in Barnsley’s schools and colleges.
Campaign manager Lucy Straker said: “Five people die on the UK\s roads every day, so why do we still think it’s okay to speed?( “Every time we drive faster than the speed limit, or too fast for the road conditions, we increase the risk of a crash and we increase the chance that someone we love will be killed or hurt on a road.
“Whoever you are, however you travel, we need to talk about speed and I’m grateful to South Yorkshire’s Safer Roads Partnership for being part of the conversation.”
