Working to improve road safety and help save lives is at the heart of what we do at Drivetech. August is National Road Victim month, and for us, it’s both a time to reflect on the lives that have been lost on the road, and to raise awareness of the importance of preventing further loss.
National Road Victim month was established following the death of Princess Diana on 31st August 1997, and to commemorate all road fatalities from the first death by a motor vehicle, Bridget Driscoll in 1896, to today. One charity which is carrying out vital work in this space is RoadPeace, which is using this month to rally members to raise awareness of the injustice that crash victims face. RoadPeace is the national charity for road crash victims in the UK.
Today, there are still around five deaths on UK roads daily, and an average of 60 serious injuries, according to Department for Transport data. These stats have been fairly consistent for most of the last decade, which means more needs to be done to improve the safety of our roads.
Two voices championing for change
In July, Drivetech’s head of marketing, Colin Paterson, met two incredible women, both of whom have lost a child in tragic road traffic collisions, who are working tirelessly for improvements in road safety. Their strength and dedication to preventing further deaths is truly inspiring, so we wanted to take the time to shine the spotlight on both of them.
Meera Naran MBE (pictured below) campaigns for road safety following the death of her eight-year-old son Dev on a smart motorway in 2018, when his grandfather’s car was struck by a lorry. A key part of her work is raising awareness of the safety risks of smart motorways, and she has been instrumental in the government’s decision to delay their roll-out. In January this year, it was announced that smart motorways are on pause until a full five years’ worth of safety data is available.
Her ongoing work sees Meera lobbying for it to be made law that all new vehicles are fitted with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), which automatically brakes the vehicle if a driver doesn’t respond to a potential collision.
This would be known as Dev’s Law, and Drivetech and the AA as a whole are fully backing it. Edmund King OBE, AA president, said: “The adoption of Dev’s Law mandating the fitting of AEB on all new vehicles, including vans, would be a massive milestone in road safety akin to major safety advances such as seat belts, breathalysers or air bags.”
In recognition of her services to road safety, Meera was awarded an MBE in February this year, which she dedicated to her son Dev. She has also recently become a trustee of road safety charity Brake, which strives to stop road deaths and injuries, support those affected and campaign for greater safety on the roads.
Another remarkable story of positive action for road safety is that of Cheryl Hewes. August is very much a month of remembrance for Cheryl, as in 2020 her daughter Becci (pictured below) was killed at the scene of a collision. A driver cut a corner of a junction when Becci was travelling home from work on her motorbike. She was just 24.
Cheryl said: “As I approach the second anniversary of her death, the feeling of impending doom is already setting in. I am trying not to let this date define me and celebrate her life instead of mourning it.” Cheryl has now set out to raise money for Brake, with plans to climb the equivalent of Ben Nevis’ 4’406 ft by going up Roseberry Topping in North Yorkshire consecutively five times. She wishes to help prevent this outcome for another family.
All road traffic-related fatalities and injuries are preventable, and we must all work together to ensure that mobility doesn’t come at the expense of lives. We’ll continue to follow and support the work of Meera and Cheryl and the many other amazing campaigners that are doing such a vital role in raising awareness of road safety, despite dealing with unimaginable loss. Our thoughts are with all the victims and their families this month and beyond.
You can support Cheryl’s fundraising mission here: https://gofund.me/003a3944
To find out more about Meera’s work with Brake, visit: https://www.brake.org.uk/
For details on RoadPeace, visit: www.roadpeace.org
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