“Focus on saving lives rather than a few minutes,” says road safety campaigner who lost daughter in 2008

A display has been set up in Abington Park to mark the seventh UN Global Road Safety Week – to represent all the people killed and injured on roads across the county in 2022.

Road traffic injuries are a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, with around 1.3 million killed and as many as 50 million injured each year.

Last year alone, 36 people were killed, 347 were seriously injured and 1,189 were slightly injured on roads in Northamptonshire.

Two people that have continued to campaign for road safety are Chris and Nicole Taylor, who lost their daughter Beccy to a road traffic incident in 2008 – aged just 18.

Beccy lost control when her car hit surface water on a road between Blisworth and Milton Malsor.

Nicole said: “For people aged between five and 29, there is no greater threat to their lives than the road.

“Globally, one of every four deaths occur among pedestrians and cyclists.”

Nicole says Global Road Safety Week, from May 15 to 21, serves as a platform for local, regional, national and global activities to raise awareness about road safety issues – and to stimulate appropriate responses.

“By working together, lives can be saved and serious injuries can be reduced,” Nicole added.

In 2010, the UN announced its first decade of action for road safety and set a goal of halving road casualties by 2020.

The figure initially reduced but then plateaued and remained unchanged. Now in the second decade, there is hope the number of road deaths will be halved by 2030.

The display in Abington Park, funded by the Safer Roads Team, has created a meaningful visual image of the “terrible number” of deaths and serious injuries on roads across the county last year.

The idea was put forward by police officer Emilie Bunkall, who has a “great passion for road safety”.

Following the loss of her mother, Julie Bunkall, in a road collision on June 6, 2013 on the A6 in Burton Latimer, Emilie has seen the direct devastation it causes and has been committed to supporting families experiencing what she did ever since.

By moving the display to Abington park, Emilie hoped it would attract the attention of more people and start important conversations.

During the six hours when the display was being put up last Sunday (May 14) alone, it gained a lot of engagement.

Two families who had been involved in serious collisions in 2022 came to visit and three individuals Emilie and Nicole met were represented by the doves in the display – as they sustained serious injuries.

Nicole said: “We feel that by creating such a powerful display, people will start to truly appreciate and understand the cost of road collisions in our county.”

There are hopes it will encourage people to learn what actions they can take to protect themselves and others, as 36 people died on roads in Northamptonshire in 2022 – the third highest number in the last decade.

“People make mistakes,” said Nicole. “We need to stop those mistakes resulting in deaths and injuries.

“We need to be better road users and look out for one another. We need to focus on saving lives rather than saving a few minutes.”

RoadPeace, a national charity for crash victims, is this week hosting their third ‘RoadPeace Challenge’ to coincide with Global Road Safety Week.

To date, it has raised more than £120,000 to support road traffic victims and invest in campaigns to reduce road danger.

Chris and Nicole’s names are beside the RoadPeace Challenge on Friday (May 19), as they want to continue raising local awareness across the county of how many lives are impacted.

“We want to amplify the voices of victims and bring education to the forefront of local conversation to prevent the needless deaths and injuries,” said Nicole.

Friday’s focus for Chris and Nicole is rural roads and their speed limits, improvements to vehicle technology, and measures to protect young drivers.

Road casualties are the main cause of death for young people aged between 17 and 24, with rural roads accounting for 60 percent of all fatalities.

Young drivers are five times more likely to have a collision when carrying passengers and eight times more likely when travelling between 2am and 4am.

Nicole said: “We need to protect these young drivers, their passengers and other road users.

“That’s why, since losing our daughter Beccy in 2008 in a road collision, Chris and I have campaigned for the government to introduce a Graduated Driving Licence to protect these novice drivers.”

Safety measures could reduce collisions, and trauma from collisions, involving young drivers by 20 to 40 percent.

“Sadly, the Graduated Driving License is seen by many as a ban that restricts the mobility of young drivers,” said Nicole. “This is not the case at all.”

The system would deliver a phased approach to driving, which builds experience and competence to help minimise the risk – and may only last for six to 12 months after passing your driving test.

Nicole said: “Young drivers would continue to be supervised when carrying their peer-aged friends and driving between midnight and 6am.

“It is these activities that significantly increase the risk of a young driver having a collision.”

This week, Nicole and Emilie have been visiting schools and raising these important issues with students.

On Saturday (May 20), an event is being held at Abington Park from 10am until 2pm – close to where the moving display has been located during Global Road Safety Week.

Nicole, Emilie and Chris would love people to come and support, as well as wearing something purple on the day if you can.