Could road deaths be reduced to zero by 2040?

Alison Lowe with a picture showing her sister, who died following a collision in Leeds at the age of three

The deputy mayor of West Yorkshire, Alison Lowe, knows only too well the pain of losing a loved one in a car crash.

Her sister, Debbie, was fatally injured in a collision on Roundhay Road in Leeds in 1965 at the age of just three years old.

Ms Lowe has now launched what is called the Vison Zero initiative, with the aim of reducing to zero the number of people killed or seriously injured on West Yorkshire's roads by 2040.

With 1,450 casualties, including 50 deaths, on the county's roads in 2023, Ms Lowe said there was much work to do and she asked everyone to "please play your part".

'Devastating impact'

Speaking of the loss of her sister, Ms Lowe said: "I was a year old. I never got to know her, I never got to grow up with her.

"The impact on my family was devastating. My mum and dad never forgot her.

"My dad became a bus driver in later life. He won a safe driver award because he was always the safest and best driver he could ever be because he remembered what had happened to Debbie."

With that in mind, Ms Lowe said the new Vision Zero initiative for West Yorkshire would focus on the "safe system" approach.

That included making roads as safe as possible, educating drivers about their behaviour, post-collision response and speed awareness, she said.

There were 1,450 casualties, including 50 deaths, on West Yorkshire's roads in 2023

At a launch event for Vision Zero outside Cartwright Hall in Lister Park, Bradford, on Tuesday, Bev and Steve Gough spoke of their own loss.

They said they were there to represent their daughter, Naomi, 19, who died in a crash in 2007.

Naomi had just celebrated her birthday and had recently returned from a holiday in Blackpool.

But on her way home from work one evening, she died in a crash on the flyover in Halifax.

Mrs Gough said she knew cutting road deaths to zero in West Yorkshire would be "an extremely tough challenge".

"Although there are really decent responsible people behind the wheel of a car, you will always have the idiots," she said.

"But even if we don't eradicate it, we can massively reduce the fatalities and serious injuries."

Bev and Steve Gough lost their daughter Naomi in a crash in Halifax in 2007 and now campaign for road safety

Meanwhile, Mr Gough said it was "all about education".

"I would say think about your actions. You do not want to put your family, or somebody else's family, through what we're going through right now," he said.

"It is a life sentence. Never mind the courts, you will never stop living that moment and you will feel it for the rest of your life."

Ms Lowe agreed that education was key, adding: "We need to address the root causes why people are killed and seriously injured on our roads."

She added: "We can do it if we do it together, because this is about looking at road design, looking at car design, looking at behaviours, looking at how we as a society tolerate road deaths."

'Play your part'

Ms Lowe said as part of the Vision Zero initiative, drivers would have a vital role to play in making it a success.

"You are part of a community, part of a family. You're part of a wider West Yorkshire," she said.

The Vision Zero website, run by West Yorkshire Combined Authority, includes safety advice, information on child car seat check events, and a portal where users can submit dashcam footage of dangerous driving to the police.

Ms Lowe said the message of Vision Zero was simple: "Please play your part. Do not be selfish, do not speed, do not use drink or drugs when driving.

"Wear your seat belt, don't use your mobile phone, and always take care when you're driving."

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