PCC announces new measures to save lives on the county’s roads in Road Safety Week

Two new safety ventures are in the pipeline to boost efforts to protect lives and prevent fatalities and serious injuries on Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s roads.

As Road Safety Week (16 to 22 November) draws to a close, Police and Crime Commissioner Darryl Preston has announced funding for two schemes to support Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Road Safety Partnership’s work to achieve Vision Zero and eliminate road deaths and serious injuries.

As Chair of the Partnership’s Vision Zero Board, the PCC created a new Road Safety Fund worth £20k and invited statutory organisations to apply for grants of up to £3,500 to support local road safety priorities with the aim of delivering projects up to March 2026.

Following on from the launch, the PCC has approved two further applications, including the roll out of the ‘I am Des’ scheme in Huntingdonshire and Cambridge City throughout December and beyond.

The national initiative, which traditionally runs in December to support the force’s annual Christmas Drink Drive Awareness Campaign, sees licensed premises providing discounted or complimentary soft drinks to the designated driver within a party to discourage drink driving.

A grant of £1,300 has been provided which will enable the Constabulary’s Casualty Reduction Officer, a post funded by the Commissioner, to work with Huntingdonshire Business Against Crime and Pubwatch for the purchase of 120 ‘Des’ branded self-inking stamps to be used by licensed premises to identify the designated driver within a group and to promote the scheme.

The project follows feedback from licensed premises in St Neots supporting a continuation of the I am Des scheme all-year-long, rather than just December, with drink-driving as much as an issue in the summer months.

In a second project, the PCC has approved funding for Vision Zero branded seatbelt covers that attach to the seatbelts of people living with disabilities.

The seatbelt cover provides instant information to anyone attending an emergency that the occupant has a pre-existing condition that may inhibit communication or complicate their treatment.

The covers, which attach to the seatbelt via a durable Velcro strap, contain a unique PIN which has already been registered with the force as part of the Pegasus scheme.

This is a policing initiative enabling individuals with disabilities or illnesses that make communication difficult to pre-register their personal details to allow the emergency services to provide the right support from the onset of an emergency. A simple call to the Force Control Room will provide the emergency services personnel attending an incident with all relevant details and will ensure the individual’s personal information is protected. 

A previous award of £3,000 was made to enable BikeSafe workshops to be promoted more widely, including to attract younger motorcyclists to enhance their skills. Bikesafe is a motorcycle initiative run by policing, aimed at working with motorcycle riders to raise awareness of the importance and value of progressing on accredited post-test training. The workshops involve an observed ride with a police-graded motorcyclist or approved BikeSafe observer, aiming to cover rider attitude, systematic methods, collision causation, cornering, positioning, overtaking, observation, braking, hazard perception and use of gears.

Darryl said: “The Road Safety Fund is about supporting practical action to make our roads and those using them safer while reminding drivers of the gravity of their responsibilities when operating a vehicle. There is never an excuse for drink or drug driving. Throughout the festive period and beyond, our officers will be conducting proactive enforcement checks to hold those accountable who believe the law doesn’t apply to them.

“Through the Fund I hope to reinforce an important message: that road safety is a shared responsibility and one in which we must all play our part to protect lives and prevent more families from heartbreaking and unnecessary tragedies. I am grateful for the support of licensed premises and the wider community for their ongoing efforts to promote a safer culture on our roads.”

The Vision Zero Partnership is made up of statutory and non-statutory agencies who have signed up to an ambition to prevent road deaths across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and significantly reduce the severity of injuries and subsequent costs and social impacts of road traffic collisions.  

Road safety has remained a key focus for the Commissioner with the PCC committing significant investment in education to promote a safer driving culture and to save lives. 

He currently funds a Community Speed Watch Coordinator (CSO) to oversee the Speed Watch scheme across the county and empower residents to contribute to the Partnership’s safety ambitions. 

The Commissioner has also funded a Casualty Reduction Police Officer post to lead on educational and preventative road safety work across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and has continued funding for three fleet vehicles used by the Vision Zero Specials Team to deliver roads safety awareness in speeding hotspots.

This year’s Road Safety Week, run by the charity Brake, is focused on the theme ‘Safe Vehicles Save Lives,’ and aims to raise awareness about the importance of vehicle safety features and roadworthiness to prevent accidents, injuries and deaths.