Shropshire Star

‘Alarming’ number of deaths on Shropshire roads

New figures have revealed that 20 people were killed on the county's roads last year, with nearly 200 injured.

Published

Data published by the road safety charity Brake outlines the number of people who have died on roads across the country, with five killed in Telford & Wrekin and 15 dying in Shropshire during 2018.

In Telford & Wrekin two pedestrians were killed, one cyclist, and two people in cars.

For Shropshire the figures included two pedestrians who were killed, one cyclist, two motorcyclists, and nine people in cars.

The figures also show that 143 people were killed or seriously injured on Shropshire roads, with a further 50 on Telford & Wrekin roads.

They include five child pedestrians and one child cyclist.

Across the West Midlands region as a whole, 173 people were killed and 1,975 seriously injured in 2018.

The West Midlands also saw an 18 per cent increase in the number of child pedestrians killed or seriously injured on the roads, rising from 117 in 2017 to 138 in 2018.

Three in 10 people in the West Midlands have been in a crash or experienced a near miss in the past year, a Brake survey found.

Alarming

The figures were published as part of Road Safety Week and campaigners insist the number of deaths and injuries is too high.

Joshua Harris, director of campaigns for Brake, said: “These findings paint an alarming picture of the danger on the West Midlands’ roads and yet it’s what we’re all exposed to, every day, when getting about.

"We shouldn’t have to accept this level of risk as part of our daily lives and so we are calling on everyone to step up for Road Safety Week and shout out for the solutions that we know can make our roads safe.

“Across the region, people are working tirelessly to campaign for safe streets, organising petitions, meeting with MPs and councillors and raising money and awareness.

"This Road Safety Week we want everyone to think about how they can do their bit and step up for safe streets. Can you join or start a local campaign? Do you need to take the car on your next journey, or could you walk, cycle or get the bus? If you are travelling by car, will you pledge to always keep within speed limits and never drive after drinking alcohol or taking drugs? Let’s all step up for safe streets and, together, we can help make roads safer for everyone.”

In the Midlands there were five deaths and 87 serious injuries in Wolverhampton, six deaths and 77 serious injuries in Dudley and six deaths and 98 serious injuries in Sandwell.

In Walsall the figure was five deaths and 80 serious injuries while in Staffordshire it was 25 deaths and 170 serious injuries.

Road casualties included 159 pedestrians and 52 cyclists.