West Yorkshire Vision Zero Strategy
West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) has published its Vision Zero Strategy (2024-27).
The guiding principle behind Vision Zero is that no death or serious injury (KSI) is acceptable on the roads.
West Yorkshire Vision Zero brings together:
- WYCA
- the five local authorities
- West Yorkshire Police
- National Highways
- Victim Support
- West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue and
- road safety campaigners
The West Yorkshire Vision Zero Board is in charge of coordinating the strategy.
1,450 people were killed or seriously injured on West Yorkshire’s roads in 2023.
The aim is cut that number in half by 2030, and reduce it to zero by 2040.
Video
WYCA has produced a video to accompany the Strategy.
Mayor Tracy Brabin
Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin said:
‘In the Police and Crime Plan, I recognise that road safety is a key priority for West Yorkshire, and I made the commitment to deliver an effective Vision Zero approach…Through the support of the Deputy Mayor in her role as Chair of the Vision Zero Board, we will strive to reduce killed and seriously injured casualties on our roads to zero by 2040’.
Deputy Mayor Alison Lowe OBE revealed that this subject is personal for her. Her sister Debbie was killed by a speeding driver at the age of 3.
The Deputy Mayor said that there are a Fatal Five causes of road death:
- speeding
- careless driving
- drug and alcohol use
- mobile phone use
- not wearing a seat belt
Introduction
The Vision Zero Strategy came out of the Police and Crime Plan, when road safety was identified as a top priority in a public consultation.
The Vision Zero Strategy was first created in 2019. The Strategy prioritises life and health, and says that they should not be compromised by our need to travel.
It is put into practice using a safe system approach, which is holistic and forgiving of human error.
National and Local Context
National government policies in Gear Change, the Net Zero Strategy and CWIS2 recognise that we cannot achieve our public health and carbon reduction goals without reducing reliance on the private car.
Locally in West Yorkshire, KSIs rose 27% from 2019 to 2022.
Drastic action is needed for the region to get back on track.
The Strategy says that part of making the roads safer will involve modal shift to active travel.
‘We recognise that while cars can provide a vital source of independence for some, a transport system which is exclusively reliant on the private car may in fact limit options for those who are able to travel via other modes. A safe road system must balance the safety and mode choices of all road users.
Changes towards safer, less car-dominated environments will provide us with an opportunity to reduce congestion, pollution and noise for our residents.
At the same time, giving people more choice of sustainable and reliable travel options will free up the roads for those who are unable to travel via active modes, improve accessibility for people living with disabilities, and relieve the burden of transport-related social exclusion for people with less access to key services and opportunities’.
There is a link between deprivation and casualty risk, a TfL study shows.
The Journey So Far
The Strategy says that £25 million has been alloctated to the Safer Roads programme from the City Regional Sustainable Transport Settlement.
WYCA are developing LCWIPs for each of the five councils within the region.
The West Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership was launched in 2023, and will allow more enforcement against speeding.
Consultation
There was a public consultation in August 2023.
66% of respondents agreed that reducing anti-social driving behaviour was a top priority. 33% wanted reduced speeds.
Safe Systems
There are five elements to the safe systems approach as it applies to road safety. One of them is ‘safe roads’.
‘Creating safe roads involves changes to the physical road environment to prevent collisions from happening or reduce their impact.
[This includes] delivering dedicated infrastructure that caters to the different needs of those walking, wheeling and cycling’.
The ‘safe speeds’ priorities are speed cameras, enforcement, speed-reducing designs and reduced speed limits.
The Vision Zero Strategy 2024-27 contains priority areas of work for the next 3 years.
For example, the priorities under the heading safe roads include:
- standardise the approach to enforcement of traffic offences
- embed the principles of people-first design in WYCA’s review process for transport projects
- trial innovative designs for different road user groups
There are targets for reductions in KSIs in West Yorkshire.
