Wiltshire Police launch road safety awareness campaign

Officer Phil Staynings said: "Each of these 13 fatalities is a person, somebody's child, a brother or sister, a parent or grandparent"

A road safety campaign has been launched following 13 deaths in crashes this year in Wiltshire.

Most of the fatalities happened on the M4, A303, A338, A360, A3102 and A4, Wiltshire Police said.

Across the summer, the force is carrying out patrols and awareness-raising projects to target problem drivers in a bid to reduce fatalities on the roads.

Officer Phil Staynings said: "A single death on our roads is one too many."

"It is really important that we don't look at these numbers as just a statistic," he said.

"Each of these 13 fatalities is a person, somebody's child, a brother or sister, a parent or grandparent. Each fatality devastates a family, a friendship group and a community."

'Five fatal offences'

The force said 29 people lost their lives on roads in the county in 2022, and raised concerns over the fact it had been called out to 19 serious crashes since the beginning of the year.

"This summer, we are making road safety a focus for the entire force through enforcement and intensive awareness-raising focusing predominantly on the fatal five offences which contribute to serious collisions," Mr Staynings continued.

"These are speeding, drink and drug driving, using a phone while driving, not wearing a seatbelt, or careless and dangerous driving."

As part of the campaign, Wiltshire Police joined the Road Safety Partnership in Swindon at the weekend for an education day on road safety.

Will Ayres, from the force's roads policing unit, said he knows "all too well the devastation and heartbreak delivering a death message to a family can cause".

"Please help us keep Wiltshire's roads safe and ensure you give the road your full attention at all times - conditions can change or hazards can present themselves within seconds," he added.