Road Safety
Keeping people safe on Wiltshire’s roads is complex issue. The county has many small country lanes due to the rural nature of some areas, but also has a number of main A roads and a section of the M4 motorway.
Typical road safety issues include:
- Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Driving whilst using mobile devices
- Driving without insurance or a valid MOT
- Driving offences e.g. speeding, dangerous driving, incorrect seatbelt use
- Collisions
- Safety of cyclists
Wiltshire Police offer more information on each of these areas of road safety on their website.
How are we tackling Road Safety in Wiltshire?
Community Speedwatch volunteers monitor speeding in their local areas where there are 20mph, 30mph and 40mph speed limits. In Wiltshire, there are 115 Community Speedwatch teams with almost 1000 volunteers. Volunteers are trained by Traffic Management Policing Officers. Please see the Community Speedwatch pages on the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner website if you would like to get involved.
A Community Speedwatch Enforcement Officer works with Community Speedwatch using mobile speed cameras to collate intelligence and develop a targeted enforcement approach in areas where there are known speed issues.
Wiltshire’s and Swindon’s Road Safety Partnership meets quarterly as a multi-agency group of organisations to tackle road safety in Wiltshire. The Road Safety Partnership in part of both Wiltshire’s and Swindon’s Community Safety Partnership and therefore is also linked in to areas of CSP business which are linked to road safety such as substance misuse and crime in our communities.
The Road Safety Partnership is currently developing Wiltshire’s new Road Safety Strategy, based on gathering the latest statistical information and road safety data from across the county. This is estimated to be published in Spring 2023.
Wiltshire Police are currently working to the National Roads Policing Strategy 2018-2022.
Where can I go for more information?
For advice and support around Road Safety education, please contact the Road Safety Education Team at Wiltshire Council on 01225 713700 or roadsafetyeducation@wiltshire.gov.uk
Wiltshire Council also work alongside the Healthy Schools team to offer Road Safety Education to schools.
Further details about Road Safety Education programmes for schools can be found at Right Choice
Wiltshire Police offer advice on preventing vehicle-related crime, such as theft and bike safety.
The government’s THINK Cycle Safety website offers advice and guidance to cyclists on how to keep safe on the roads.
The AA offers information on rural roads and young drivers, with an interactive map showing the how dangerous different rural roads are in the country, with the ability to look specifically at a particular county.