Pendle News Room

In 2015, 51 people were killed or seriously injured in a road traffic collision on Pendle’s roads – 12 were children.

And in Lancashire 9, 436 people were treated in A&E after being involved in road traffic collisions. Of these 4, 435 were aged between 20 and 39 and 1, 981 were between 0 and nine years old. 

Councillor David Whipp, Chairman of Pendle Community Safety Partnership, said: “These are startling figures but we can all take some simple steps to reduce the number of people who are hurt on our roads.

“Let’s be clear – dangerous drivers come in all shapes and sizes.

“It’s not just young lads who are speeding, it’s someone who’s trying not to be late for a meeting, a parent rushing because they’re trying to get to school on time, or delivery drivers and taxi drivers who have targets to meet.”

During Road Safety week the Partnership is launching a pledge to encourage people to do everything they can to protect themselves and the people around them by driving carefully.

The pledge reminds people to:

• slow down – the speed limit isn’t always safe
• slow down and respect other road users
• speak up if they’re not comfortable with a driver’s speed.

A car which was involved in a horrific accident involving a young person in Lancashire will be in Nelson Town Centre on Monday (21 November) and in the Town Square in Barnoldswick on Friday (25 November) between 11am and 2pm.

The Partnership, including police and fire officers, will be available to talk to about the reasons people speed and how accidents can be avoided.

And people will be encouraged to sign the pledge and take a copy away with them to remind them of how they can prevent accidents from happening.

On Wednesday (23 November) shoppers in Colne will also be able to sign the pledge when the Partnership team is in the town centre between 11am and 2pm.

Geoff Whitehead, Community Safety Manager, said: “Residents regularly raise speeding and dangerous driving on Pendle’s roads as a major concern and we’re hoping that this will go some way towards tackling it.

“We hope that by making a pledge to slow down, people will make a difference on Pendle’s roads themselves.

“And the more people we can get to sign our pledge the stronger our case will be for additional resources to tackle this issue locally.”

Inspector Paul Goodall, added: “We’re hoping that this pledge will remind people of the stark message that speed kills.

“Please remember that speed limits are there for a reason – one in three road deaths are speed related and these can be avoided.

“During the week we’ll be out and out about with our mobile cameras in the areas we know to be notorious for speeding.

“Again, this is a reminder to slow down behind the wheel.”