For too long, progress on road safety has stalled. Families here in Stourbridge know the heartbreak that follows when a life is lost or changed forever on our roads. That is why I welcome the Government’s new Road Safety Strategy, the first comprehensive plan in over a decade to tackle road deaths and serious injuries head-on.
Last year, an average of four people died every single day on England’s roads. Thousands more were left with life-changing injuries. These are not just statistics – they are parents, children, friends, and neighbours. And the truth is, many of these tragedies were preventable.
The new strategy is ambitious and rightly so. It sets a clear target to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads by 65 per cent by 2035, and by 70 per cent for children. That matters, because behind every percentage point are real lives saved.
The plan recognises that road safety is about more than one silver bullet. It combines tougher enforcement, safer vehicles, and better-designed streets. Measures include cracking down on drink and drug driving, consulting on lower drink-drive limits, improving driver training and testing, and mandating cutting-edge safety technology in new vehicles – technology that can prevent collisions before they happen.
Infrastructure also matters. Updating speed-limit guidance, embedding safer road design through the Manual for Streets, and investing billions to maintain and improve our roads will make a real difference, particularly for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. Just as importantly, a new Road Safety Investigation Branch will help us learn lessons from serious collisions so that mistakes are not repeated.
While I welcome this national strategy, I have also been clear that there are specific dangers we must confront more directly. One of those is street racing. Too many communities, including parts of Stourbridge, have seen roads turned into racetracks, putting innocent lives at risk.
That is why I have tabled a motion in Parliament calling for street racing to be made a specific criminal offence. Anti-social driving of this kind is not a harmless thrill – it is reckless, intimidating and potentially lethal. I will continue to lobby ministers and work with colleagues across Parliament to turn this proposal into law, alongside considering other parliamentary actions to strengthen the response to dangerous driving.
I also applaud the work already being done across the West Midlands by Mayor Richard Parker and our Road Safety Commissioner, Mat MacDonald, with tougher speed enforcement, safer street design and new technology to cut deaths and serious injuries
Road safety should never be a party-political issue. Everyone deserves to feel safe walking to school, cycling to work, or driving home at the end of a long day. This new strategy is a landmark step forward, but delivery will be key. I will be holding the Government to account to ensure these commitments translate into safer streets for Stourbridge.
As your MP, I will keep pushing for tougher action where it is needed and for local voices to be heard. Because every life lost on our roads is one too many – and together, we can do better.
ENDS
Photo attached: Cat Eccles MP holding speed sign on a road in Stourbridge
