Derbyshire PCC confirms £150k fund to deliver on promise improve road safety

Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner Angelique Foster has confirmed a new £150k fund as part of her commitment to ensure road safety is improved across the county.

The Road Safety Grant scheme will enable voluntary groups, parish and town councils, charities and non-profit organisations to apply for a grant to deliver safety measures aimed at improving road safety and reducing the number of fatal and serious injuries on the county's road network.

Applicants can apply for funds to set up local traffic calming projects and Community Speedwatch schemes and/or those in applicable areas can apply for a grant to install Speed Indicator Devices (SIDs).

Commissioner Angelique Foster has promised to deliver stronger and more effective policing to tackle the priorities local people have identified. Road safety is among a series of key priorities featured in the Commissioner's Police and Crime Plan after being frequently raised by the public as an issue of concern.

The Commissioner is investing additional resources to tackle the Fatal Four (speeding, drink/drug driving, seatbelts and mobile phones), to enable the force to deliver a robust and well-resourced roads policing unit and to ensure proactive speed enforcement is conducted on the county's road network alongside a tougher approach to dangerous driving.

The Road Safety Grant scheme supports the Commissioner's plans to create stronger and safer communities and enable local people to play a proactive role in road safety and crime prevention.

Commissioner Angelique Foster said: "Improving safety on our roads is an issue that is important to everyone living in Derbyshire. This new funding scheme is one of the many ways I am delivering on my pledge to help improve road safety for all.

"Speeding and dangerous driving impacts every single one of our communities in Derbyshire and we still have too many traffic collision and fatalities on our roads. It is important to do everything we can to reduce risk and encourage drivers to take greater responsibility for their own and other people's safety. I am keen to involve local people in this effort as much as possible.

"My Road Safety Grant encourages people to work together to develop joint solutions, raise awareness of serious issues and proactively help improve their local area."

Last month it was announced that the Commissioner had been successful in working with Derbyshire County Council to secure the launch of a new initiative for Speed Indicator Devices (SIDs), that display a message or speed when triggered by vehicles travelling at excessive speeds across the county.  Through this new initiative, Parishes will now be able to purchase their own devices and install them where there is known speeding concerns in their local areas. She is encouraging Parish Councils to apply for funding for these devices from her Road Safety Grant.

This is in addition to the extra resources she has provided to the force as part of the 22/23 budget to help improve road safety.  

The Commissioner announced details of the new fund at a Road Safety Scrutiny Meeting held earlier in the day, where she questioned Derbyshire Constabulary about their increased enforcement activities and positive action to help reduce the number of traffic collisions.

Commissioner Angelique Foster is also keen to increase and support volunteer Community Speedwatch programmes enabling speed monitoring to be carried out by trained community volunteers. This scheme sees members of the community monitoring and recording the registration numbers of vehicles which exceed the speed limit. These are then forwarded to Derbyshire Constabulary's Community Speedwatch administration officer to conduct appropriate checks. Applications from established and new Community Speedwatches will be considered.

For more information and to apply, visit this link.