newsletter - RoadPeace

RoadPeace
autumn 2010
dangernewsletter
issue 30
Supporting crash victims, reducing road
Six families a day are bereaved by road crashes in Great Britain

In this issue
❚ Dedication 2
❚ Letter and ‘News from the office’ 3
❚ Support 4
❚ Remembrance 5
❚ Collision investigation 6
❚ Criminal prosecution 7
❚ Road danger reduction 8
❚ Europe and beyond 9
❚ Local groups 10
❚ Funds 11–12
About this newsletter
Contributions from members in the
form of letters, testimonies, news
stories, poems and photographs are very
welcome.
Deadline for contributions to the next
issue: 31 January 2011.
Printed on non-chlorine-bleached and
non-wood based paper by Russell Press,
Bulwell Lane, Nottingham NG6 0BT
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Registered charity 1087192
THIS NEWSLETTER IS DEDICATED TO
Catriona Patel (née Cockburn)
Catriona was a caring, beautiful and loving wife to Anish,
youngest child to Janet, sister to Fiona and Ian and friend
and colleague to so many. Cat was always a happy person
who would see the best in every situation. She was
sensitive, thoughtful and deeply loyal to the many friends
she made over the years. We are all so devastated by her
untimely death and the sudden nature of it.
Cat was an outdoors girl, loved to travel, spoke several
languages fluently and had a passion for skiing and cycling.
She had a magical gift of putting everyone at ease and
enjoyed nothing better than to organise gatherings for
family and friends. Cat excelled in everything she did and
achieved so much in her short life, both personally and from
a professional perspective, where she worked as a Director
in an investor relations consultancy. How she went about
her work and play is what people most admired and loved
about Cat; her kind, patient, understanding and generous
approach will be missed by us all – forever.
Cat lived for her family, friends and Millie, her beloved cocker spaniel. She was a
person that brought the best out in others. Nothing will bring her back, but there
is so much that will remind us of her.
About RoadPeace
RoadPeace is Britain’s national charity
for road traffic victims. It was set up in
1992 in response to the overwhelming
need for a national organisation to
support bereaved families and injured
victims of road crashes, and to draw
attention to their lack of rights, the
disregard of their needs and the casual
attitudes taken towards them.
RoadPeace works with many
organisations concerned with road
victim, bereavement and injury issues.
The work of RoadPeace involves
direct support for bereaved and injured
people through a national helpline, and
providing guides that explain legal
procedures following a crash.
RoadPeace supports road danger
reduction and the promotion of
transport policies which give greater
consideration to vulnerable road users
and the environment.
RoadPeace is also a member of FEVR,
the European Federation of Road
Traffic Victims, which has United
Nations consultative status.
The information we gather is used to
educate and inform the public and
relevant agencies ranging from
government departments to individual
coroners.
RoadPeace national committee
❚ Brigitte Chaudhry (MBE), President/Founder
❚ Cynthia Barlow, Chair
❚ Jeff Baker, Vice Chair
❚ Sue Baker
❚ Pauline Fielding
❚ Peter Salter
❚ Laura Middleton-Guerard
❚ Rebecca Steinbach
Local group coordinators
❚ Bristol and South West, Steve Duddell
❚ East Anglia, Bridget Wall and Elizabeth
Voysey
❚ Lancashire, Maria Hodgson
❚ Liverpool, Margaret Highton and Pauline
Fielding
❚ Manchester, June Webb
Website and internet memorials
Ludwood Interactive
Patrons
❚ Nicholas Atkinson QC
❚ Colin Ettinger
❚ Dr Mayer Hillman
❚ Ken Livingstone
❚ Dr Noreen Tehrani
❚ Harry Trusted
❚ Professor Ian Roberts
❚ Professor John Whitelegg
❚ John Stewart
❚ Dr Narinder Kapur
2 newsletter

Letter
Dear friends,
AS announced in June, the number of road deaths in Britain fell to an all-time low in 2009, with some 345 fewer
families bereaved by road crashes than in 2008. Our ‘good’ road safety record, while at the top of the international
league, still has an average of six families a day suffering the death of a loved one as the pictures on our newsletter
cover and this year’s publication Six-a-day show. We thank the families of Eildih Cairns, Luke Bland, Sophie Harrison,
Stuart Golding, Paul Richardson and Kate Furneaux for allowing us to share their stories.
We will continue to work for better awareness and understanding of the devastation caused by crashes, and the
excessive and inappropriate use of motor vehicles.
In this newsletter we are pleased to bring you news of our resilience support programme, now in its second year,
as well as highlights from our recent conference on collision investigation. There are updates from our members
and local groups on their recent activities and a reminder that World Day of Remembrance is taking place on
Sunday 21 November.
We hope that you find this newsletter interesting and thank you for your continued support.
Amy Aeron-Thomas
Executive Director
News from the office . . .
Introducing two new members of our
board of trustees
Rebecca Steinbach
REBECCA brings extensive experience to
our board as a full-time academic
researcher and contributor to public
policy think-tanks. She works at the
London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine in the Department of Social
and Environmental Health Research.
She brings particular understanding of
evidence-based research that addresses
road danger issues.
Laura Middleton-Guerard
LAURA joins our board of trustees as a
representative of the Association of
Personal Injury Lawyers. She is a
Personal Injury lawyer with national
law firm, Irwin Mitchell, where she
works with people who have sustained
life-changing injuries through negligent
acts, including road traffic collisions.
She joins our board with a strong
commitment to ensuring that driving
offences are considered seriously. Laura is also a board member
with Headway.
In the news
ROADPEACE Chair, Cynthia Barlow, was recently approached
by Cole Moreton, a journalist at the Financial Times weekend
magazine, who remembered her from a radio interview several
years ago. He wrote a very moving and sensitive piece that
drew attention to the work that Cynthia has done since her
daughter, Alex’s, death ten years ago. The impact of this article
was clear in the responses and messages of support that
Cynthia received. From this came three further interviews, with
BBC World Service, Daily Express Magazine and Radio 4 You
and Yours.
If you missed these items they are available on our website
http://roadpeace.org/news/in_the_news/
Photo: Financial Times
autumn 2010 3

letters Support
Victim’s Commissioner remit does
include victims of culpable crashes
LOUISE Casey, the new Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses, published a report on her initial assessment
of the situation, entitled The poor relation–victims in the criminal justice system. She highlighted two key
groups: child witnesses and the bereaved. Unfortunately her definition of the bereaved only included those
involving murder and manslaughter.
RoadPeace contacted her office immediately to clarify the position of victims injured or families bereaved
by law-breaking drivers.
In a meeting with the Victim and Witness Unit, Amy Aeron-Thomas and Ursula Saunders introduced them
to RoadPeace and the ways in which road crash victims are discriminated against by the criminal justice
system. This included the Code for Victims and the Victims’ Surcharge, as well as the problems caused by the
lack of reference to any victim in common motoring charges (speeding, drink driving, careless and dangerous
driving). Staff from this unit attended the RoadPeace conference in September and a meeting with Louise is
scheduled for the end of October. ■
Resilience
THE Ministry of Justice funded resilience programme started in
London on September 27. The programme was piloted last
Autumn with two groups of bereaved families. It offers
trauma support for the newly bereaved.
This year we are running three groups – including a group
for bereaved siblings (aged between 16 and 24). This is a
very neglected group as there is very little in the way of
bereavement support or trauma support for young adults
bereaved in this way. Children who experience the loss of a
sibling often experience a total re-adjustment in their family
dynamic with parents altered forever, a shocking gap in the
family and the subsequent pressure to ‘stay alive’ and to lead
their lives as responsibly as possible. This can result in
behaviour which is quite the opposite. We hope that by
piloting this group we are providing a form of support that
will address the trauma symptoms and provide participants
with emotional support from others in a similar situation.
Road victim working group
THE working group incorporating Aftermath, Brake, SCARD,
Road Victims Trust and RoadPeace is to meet again this
Autumn to discuss shared concerns.
Victim Support are due to update us on their enhanced role
supporting those bereaved after a culpable crash. A new CEO
starts at Victim Support mid-October and we have been
promised a proper briefing on where they stand, supporting
road crash victims, soon after this date.
Helpline training
A HELPLINE training day took place at the London offices of
Irwin Mitchell in July. Speakers included Jeff Goodright, who
takes the lead on Family Liaison Training with the National
Policing Improvement Agency. Jeff spoke about his own
experiences as a roads policing officer and how the role of
the FLO has evolved. Volunteers appreciated the chance to
hear his perspective and how he has adapted the training
course to clarify the role and take into account the needs of
victims. Laura Middleton, a personal injury solicitor from Irwin
Mitchell, also gave a talk on injury compensation. She is a
new RoadPeace trustee (representing the Association of
Personal Injury Lawyers) who found meeting and listening to
bereaved and injured helpliners a helpful part of her
induction to RoadPeace.
London bereavement conference
URSULA Saunders, RoadPeace Support Services Manager,
spoke at the Barts and London Bereavement conference on
‘The experience of a sudden or traumatic death – what helps
a family’.
Feedback was excellent with many healthcare professionals
hearing about RoadPeace for the first time and understanding
the fact that victims of road collisions are not given the same
respect for their situation as victims of other causes of death.
4 newsletter

Remembrance
World Day of Remembrance
THE date of this year’s World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is Sunday 21
November. This is the 18th year that this day has been recognised and the theme around the
world is “remembering lives lost and broken”, encouraging recognition and reflection upon the
many ways in which lives are cut short or severely hindered because of a road death or injury.
This year over 30 services are being held in cathedrals and churches
throughout the UK. Other activities being organised include school
assemblies and public health lectures. A list of these has been
enclosed and will also be kept updated on our website
(http://roadpeace.org/remembering/ world_day_of_remembrance/)
If you are able to bring attention to this day within your own
communities, we encourage you to do so especially in ways that
engage your local emergency services, police family liaison
officers, health workers, MP’s and road safety teams.
Brigitte Chaudhry, founder of RoadPeace and of the World Day
of Remembrance, invites you to remember road victims on this
World Day with a light, especially between 6-8pm. ■
Internet memorial site
OVER the last few months we have been developing a new
internet memorial site and are pleased to announce that this
will be launched soon.
Following its launch we will be contacting local authorities,
police FLOs and other bereavement support organisations. We
will let them know about the opportunities that the site offers
to remember loved ones in ways that can be shared easily
with friends and family around the world and that help people
to connect with others when they might feel isolated.
The images below are impressions of how the new site will
look. It will be easy to access from our website and will link
directly to information about our other remembrance and
support services.
RoadPeace Wood
THE annual ceremony of remembrance was held at RoadPeace
Wood on Saturday 14 August. The wet weather meant that
many people made difficult journeys to the National Memorial
Arboretum, at Alrewas in Staffordshire, but they came to meet
old friends and welcome those attending for the first time.
Sandra Dutson, a Methodist local preacher and RoadPeace
Northwest member, led us in a very reflective and thoughtful
service in the Arboretum Chapel before we walked to the
RoadPeace Wood to bury the oak leaves from the service and
from several of the World Day of Remembrance services last
November. Many people remarked on how much the trees
had grown, as the picture below shows.
This annual ceremony takes place on the 2nd Saturday of
August. If you are interested in sponsoring a tree at
RoadPeace Wood please contact the National Memorial
arboretum on 01283 792333 or visit www.thenma.org.uk.
autumn 2010 5

Collision
letters
investigation
Improving the post crash response
ROADPEACE organised a conference on September 22nd to discuss the current situation with collision
investigation, as well as criminal prosecution, civil compensation and trauma care in London. The morning was
dedicated to collision investigation and covered both scene management and follow-up efforts. Detective Chief
Inspector Nick Chalmers, head of the Metropolitan Police Service
Road Collision Unit, spoke about the recent changes in collision
investigation procedures.
Dr Lorraine Hope, from Portsmouth University, talked about a
new approach to witness statements which involves witnesses
(including victims) completing a structured self-administered
interview (SAI) form as soon as possible after the crash, before
memories begin fading or being distorted by others. It is being
piloted by several British police services, including Greater
Manchester, and has been found to help increase recall ability as
well as preserve memory.
Road safety conferences are numerous but despite the reliance
on information collected from collision investigation its role is
rarely, if ever, discussed. ■
Do you
know what
happens
next?
Photo: Mark Ames
Fatal crash reporting research
“The premise behind this work
programme is that road fatalities are
preventable, but only if their
circumstances are correctly described and
understood, so that appropriate remedial
action can be taken.”
So states a new TRL report summarising a pilot study tasked
with developing a new methodology to improve the
timeliness of the collection and analysis of key data from fatal
crashes. Six police forces from the South East of England
participated in the pilot which was also to feed into the
CRASH (Collision Recording and Sharing) project, which
involves the use of handheld computers to allow data entry
at the scene of a crash, and will be linked to the Police
National Computer database containing vehicle and driver
information.
Serious injury classification review
AFTER the UK Statistics Authority highlighted the problems
with how serious road traffic injuries were defined, the
Department for Transport (DfT) commissioned a review into
how injury severity was determined and how it could be
improved. The review has recommended that serious injury be
sub-divided into three levels of severity according to a defined
list, but also noted that a large scale STATS19/hospital data
matching exercise would be needed to test this system.
Research programme ends
BEGUN in 2000, the On the Spot Study (OTS) had its funding
stopped this year by the DfT and the Highways Agency. It
involved multi-sectoral teams attending crash sites in the
Thames Valley area and Nottinghamshire with the purpose of
establishing an in-depth database to be used to improve the
understanding of the causes and consequences of road traffic
collisions, and thus help with casualty reduction. An example
of a recent finding was the relative under-reporting by police
of speed as a contributory factor in collisions, compared to
how often the OTS team identified speed as being involved.
New collision website
THE DfT have launched a new website,
www.roadcasualtiesonline.org.uk which allows members of
the public to perform their own analysis and examination of
Reported Road Accident Statistics from the years 2004-2008,
with crashes occurring in 2009 to be added shortly. The site is
still under development but users can look at crash statistics
from across Britain or in their local authority.
Coroner reform cut back
THE coalition government has just announced that there is to
be no Chief Coroner and the Office of the Chief Coroner has
been abolished. Nor is there to be a new appeals system. Both
of these were key to bereaved families.
What the government has committed to doing includes:
❚ Reviewing and updating the Coroner’s Rules
❚ Issuing and monitoring best practice guidance, including a
national charter for bereaved families.
❚ Maintaining and improving training for coroners and their
officers.
❚ Encouraging the further establishment of support services
provided by the voluntary sector to those attending inquests.
RoadPeace will be representing road crash victims at a
meeting of the Coroner Service Stakeholder Forum with the
Justice Minister on October 25 to discuss these developments.
6 newsletter

Criminal
prosecution
CPS not making charging decisions in
fatal cases
OVER the past year, RoadPeace has been helping Andy Auld, a bereaved father, whose
14 year old daughter Tiffany was killed crossing the road. The South Yorkshire Police
decided there was insufficient evidence for a prosecution and did not pass the collision
investigation file to the CPS. On the CPS website, the Director's Guidance on Charging
states that the CPS are to make the charging decision in cases involving a death.
RoadPeace raised this issue first with the South Yorkshire CPS and then with the CPS
Policy Headquarters. Both have stated that the police have the power to decide if a case
does not pass the evidence threshold and in these cases, decide no further action is
justified without consulting the CPS.
RoadPeace is shocked that the police are allowed to investigate a fatal crash and then
have the power to decide no further action, without any external check. At a time when
police budgets are being cut and collision investigation resources will be affected, there
is a greater need than ever for the charging decision to be made by an organisation not
responsible for the investigation. ■
Tiffany Auld
Causing death by careless driving
concern
INTRODUCED two years ago, RoadPeace and CTC are worried
that Causing Death by Careless Driving is being used as an
easy option instead of the tougher Causing Death by
Dangerous Driving. RoadPeace contacted the CPS Policy unit
about this problem and were informed that there is no central
monitoring being undertaken on how often a charge is being
downgraded but that the Chief Crown Prosecutor in each
local CPS area is to approve all charging decisions in causing
death by driving cases, including when the charge has been
altered.
One example of why we are worried can be seen in the case
of Alex Cameron-Young. Alex was only 17 when he was hit
and killed by a taxi driver in Preston in May 2009. The driver
admitted seeing Alex in the road from 100 metres away but
he thought Alex was playing chicken and did not brake. He
only swerved when it was too late to avoid hitting Alex. The
CPS initially agreed to a charge of Causing Death by
Dangerous Driving but four days before the trial, the charge
was downgraded to Causing
Death by Careless Driving, to
which the driver pleaded
guilty. Beverley Cameron-
Young, Alex’s mother and a
RoadPeace member,
criticised the CPS in her
victim personal statement
and is lodging a complaint
against the CPS.
Alex Cameron-Young
Courts closure
IN an attempt to save £15million a year, the government is
proposing to close 103 magistrates’ courts and 54 county
courts, out of the 530 currently open. The vast majority of
motoring offences, including those involving serious injury
collisions, are heard in the Magistrates Court, where they have
already been reported to have lost almost 15% of their staff in
recent years. This is bound to add to further delays in court
hearings. Nor is the situation helped by the turning off of so
many speed cameras which will require more speeding
prosecutions to be heard by Magistrates.
Totters still driving
A FREEDOM of Information Act request by a newspaper
revealed over 11,000 motorists had been allowed to continue
driving, despite ‘totting’ up more than 12 penalty points on
their driving license. One in four drivers facing disqualification
was allowed to continue driving under the ‘exceptional
hardship’ provision. Of these, 90% had been allowed to
continue driving by magistrates. RoadPeace argued in media
interviews that these drivers were repeat offenders and should
be removed from the road.
Ken Clarke and Restorative Justice
THE new Minister for Justice, Ken Clarke, has announced his
intention to reduce the number of offenders serving short
custodial sentences and to promote restorative justice. At
present, less than 5% of victims are given this option. At the
RoadPeace North West remembrance ceremony on 31 August
in Liverpool, Reverend Martin Earle, the chaplain at Altcourse
Prison, spoke about the restorative justice programme he
coordinates at the prison. He himself is bereaved as his
brother was killed by a reckless driver.
autumn 2010 7

Road danger
letters
reduction
Cameras, cuts and
casualties
RoadPeace response to media
misreporting
WHILE most of government was still waiting to hear
how much of their budgets will be cut, the axe has
already fallen on road safety. True to their preelection
promise, the Conservatives stopped all
central government funding for speed cameras, along
with that for red light cameras. This policy change did
not come from local communities and this move was
based on ideology, not evidence. The last large scale
evaluation of speed cameras in Britain was published
in 2005 but a new international review of 35 studies
of speed cameras by the Cochrane Collaboration, just
published in October 2010, has found speed cameras
effective at reducing casualties and crashes.
Compared to control sites, fatal and serious injury
crashes were reduced by 11%-44% at camera sites.
RoadPeace was shocked at the extent of media
misreporting of the issue, including over the number
of safety cameras. For instance, there have never
been 6000 safety cameras—this was the number of
camera housings with only a minority active at any
one time. RoadPeace has produced a briefing entitled
Cameras, cuts and casualties, in an attempt to
promote responsible journalism and challenge the
spurious claims about our road safety record and the
effectiveness of cameras. ■
More on speed
Speed and risk of death
NEW research by TRL has found the risk of pedestrian fatality
to be approximately 1% when hit at 20mph, 7% at 30mph,
and 31% at 40mph. Speed estimates were taken from the
OTS project, police fatal files and the Co-operative Crash
Injury Study. These are lower mortality risks than previously
reported but it should not be forgotten that about half of all
pedestrians killed are hit at 30mph or less.
Portsmouth 20mph update
AN interim evaluation of the extensive area-wide 20mph
speed limit scheme in Portsmouth reported that whilst the
number of people killed and seriously injured had increased
slightly (by less than 7%) on the streets covered, road
casualties in total had dropped by 22%. Compared to a
nationwide fall of road casualties by 14%, the consultants
(Atkins) found casualty benefits greater than the national
trend have not been demonstrated. But they also concluded
that:
“the scheme had reduced average speeds and been
well-supported during its first two years of operation”.
Impaired driving
Drink driving
FOLLOWING the independent review by Sir Peter North, which
recommended reducing the drink drive limit to 0.5 mg/100ml
with a 12 month driving ban for first time offenders, the
Transport Select Committee conducted an inquiry into drink
and drug driving. Before even giving an official response to
their report, the Transport Minister has indicated the
government is not convinced of the need to reduce the limit.
Drug driving
KITS to test if drivers have been using drugs are being
introduced in Britain and will be in every police station by
2012. Impairment will still need to be proven. The DfT has
invested £300,000 in roadside testing equipment.
Mobile phones
THE distraction caused by mobile phones to pedestrians has
been in the press recently with a researcher claiming two
London teenagers were killed or injured a day whilst walking
and using their phone. Yet this was based on anectodal data
only and neither collision nor hospital records collect this data.
Public attitudes to road safety
A STUDY including workshops and a national household
survey found the public to believe drink driving as the leading
cause of road crashes, and logically, the most important road
safety issue for government to address, followed by exceeding
the speed limit.
Revised cost of crashes
FOR the first time, the DfT has adjusted the estimated cost of
crashes on the country to include un-reported casualty
crashes. The new estimate is £30 billion, much larger than the
previous estimate used (£18 billion), which was for reported
casualty crashes and adjusted for property damage only
crashes. The new cost is the equivalent of almost half the
estimated cost of crime on the country.
RoadPeace Patron’s new book
IAN Roberts, RoadPeace Patron and lecturer at the London
School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), has, with
Phil Edwards, also of LSHTM, written a book on climate
change and the politics of fatness. This highlights the problem
with our transport system stating:
“Road danger is a key environmental
determinant of declining physical
activity levels, even though it is scarcely
given the time of day in contemporary
public health literature. Entire
populations do not ... give up walking
and cycling because they are tempted
... by the speed, comfort and glamour
of motorised travel. On the contrary,
they are driven off the street by
deadly force ...”
8 newsletter

Europe and
beyond
Europe and beyond
An update from Brigitte Chaudhry, RoadPeace founder and president
and outgoing president of the European Federation of Road Traffic Victims.
WHO Draft Road Safety Plan
THE World Health Organisation recently consulted on its plan
for a Decade of Action on Road Safety. Activities and indicators
were proposed for five key areas: international road safety
coordination, road safety management capacity, road design
and network management, vehicle safety design, road user
behaviour, and post crash care (www.who.int/roadsafety/
Decade_of_ action.pdf). RoadPeace and FEVR responded to this
draft plan with FEVR promoting the issues highlighted in the NGO
Declaration and RoadPeace warning that the draft plan suffered
from being focused on the driver’s perspective with insufficient
priority given to pedestrians and cyclists, especially in urban areas.
UN Road Safety Collaboration
October meeting
I WILL attend this 12th UNRSC meeting at which the updated
Draft Road Safety Plan will be further debated and improved
with contributions from participants. The final plan will be
launched by the WHO early next year. Non governmental
organisation representatives are meeting before the UNRSC
meeting to agree on recommendations for the plan that are
of particular importance to their organisations.
Simple injection could save 50,000
lives worldwide
A TIMELY injection of a cheap and widely available drug could
prevent the deaths from blood loss of tens of thousands of
seriously injured patients. This was the finding of a large
randomised trial, involving over 20,000 adult patients in 274
hospitals and 40 countries, announced by the London School
of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) by Ian Roberts,
clinical coordinator of the trial and RoadPeace Patron. On behalf
of road victims, who I represent on the CRASH steering committee,
I was given the chance to welcome these findings at the launch
conference, a TV interview and through a FEVR press release.
European Commission Consultation
on rights of victims of crime
THIS summer the European Commission (EC) launched a
consultation on the rights and services for victims of crime with
the intention of adopting a package of measures, including a
Directive on minimum standards on the rights and treatment
of victims. FEVR and RoadPeace submitted responses, and
FEVR plans to follow this up with a meeting with the Justice
Commissioner and Vice-president of the EC, with the aim of
ensuring that victims of road traffic offences are included in the
planned provisions for victims of crime in the EU.
Safety 2010 World Conference
THE 10th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety
Promotion was held in London from the 21-24 September.
The theme was Safe and Equitable Communities and
Rebecca Steinbach, LSHTM Research Fellow and RoadPeace
Trustee, spoke about her research on the effectiveness of
20mph zones.
New EC Road Safety Policy
IN JULY, the EC adopted a Communication entitled ‘Towards
a European Road Safety Area: policy orientations on road
safety 2011-2020’ which included a target of reducing road
deaths by a further 50% by 2020. The European Transport
Safety Council (ETSC), of which FEVR is a member, published
its response in September, and while welcoming the
ambitious objective, it noted the weak set of objectives and
actions, stating:
“the road safety community had hoped
for a new EU 10-year Action Programme
providing a vision, priorities and a
detailed road map against which
performance could be measured and
delivery made accountable. The
adopted Communication falls short of
these expectations.”
http://bit.ly/9r4wAF
FEVR 2010 AGM
THIS year the FEVR assembly is hosted by two FEVR member
organisations in Rome on October 8-10. It will be the last
meeting chaired by me as I am stepping down from the
Presidency, after six years. I will still remain involved for a while
in order to pass on all important materials and information. I
am also stepping down as the RoadPeace delegate, after 17
years, and Agnes Saudrais-Hough will resume this role.
European Road Safety Day
THIS is being held on 13 and 14 October in Brussels and the
themes are: new political orientations 2011-2020 and safe
intrastructure and cross border enforcement
http://bit.ly/9frKsy
World Day of Remembrance
for Road Traffic Victims
THIS day will be observed worldwide on 21 November
2010: www.wdor.org
autumn 2010 9

letters Local groups
Local groups and activities
Updates from local groups and members, including during August, National Road
Victim Month
RoadPeace Manchester Memorial
Garden
Friday 6 August
THIS day marked the 10th anniversary of the deaths of Jodie
Webb and Joanne Greenwood. June Webb, Jodie’s mother,
has created a garden of remembrance where she works with
young offenders, helping them to appreciate the devastation
that bad driving causes families. The memorial service
remembered Jodie, Joanne and all those killed on the roads in
Manchester. This year June had again organised for local
people, members of the youth offending team and local
businesses to run in the Manchester Great Run. Many of the
runners were there in person to present the funds that they
raised to staff from the London office.
RoadPeace North West Group
Monday 31 August
A FLOWER laying ceremony was held on the steps of Liverpool
Cathedral on August 31st marking the anniversaries of road
crash victims, Diana, Princess of Wales and Mary Ward, who is
reported to be the first person killed by a motor vehicle in the
world in 1869. The Lord Mayor of Liverpool spoke at the
ceremony, and would now like to take part in Liverpool’s
World Day of Remembrance ceremony. Martin Earl, Chaplain
at Altcourse Prison, spoke about its restorative justice
programme.
RoadPeace Lancashire Group
THE Lancashire Group continues to meet in Preston every two
months (January, March, May, July, September, November).
The group is organising its World Day of Remembrance
ceremony, which will be held in Preston. For further
information contact Maria Hodgson on 01772 720279.
RoadPeace South West Group
ON 22 May a memorial stone remembering lives lost and broken on roads in the South West was unveiled. Over
100 people gathered at Lower Borough Walls in the centre of Bath. There were words of support from the
region’s police, fire service, local council and MP, Don Foster. The memorial, carved from Bath stone by stonemason,
Yannick Li-Ah-Kane, was dedicated and unveiled. Seven doves were released marking the seven counties
across the south west region and the seven lives that were, at that time, recorded as the number of people killed
on Britian’s roads every day.
In September BBC South West invited RoadPeace to take part in its programme debating the current
government’s spending cuts. South West group member, Bevis Gillett, represented RoadPeace’s views on the
effects of the proposed cuts to road safety budgets, especially issues surrounding speed cameras. ■
10 newsletter

Funds
Spring appeal
IN March we launched our 2010 Spring Appeal, and would like to thank all those who gave so generously to
support us at this difficult financial time, including:
Malcolm Allan; Benedicta Anato-Dumelo; Giles Angell; Susan Baillie; Jeff and Sue Baker; V Baker
T Bendixson; Mark Bentley; Alan Blackburn; C Boland; Keith and Janet Britton; Sarah Buchanan; Alison Burton;
Susan Bury; Karen Butler; Brigitte Chaudhry; Victor Clarkson; Teresa Conneely; Jacqueline Cook; S L Cooper;
Revd Alan John Davis; P Deacey; Keith Eagleson; Richard Edwards; Des Fitzgibbon; Edwin Flint; Miguel Forde;
Rob Forster; Beryl Godfrey; Penny Hainsby; Larraine Harrison; Maria Hibberd; Stella Holt; R Jamison; Michael Job;
Rosemary Johnson; John Lewis; Elizabeth Matthias; Victoria Mayberry; Penny Noel; D Oglesby (Blakey
Engineering Services Ltd); Barry Parker; Teresa Peacock; R G Pierce; Kenneth Playfoot; Philippa Ranger; J Roberts;
S G Smith; George Stephens; Dr James Stewart; Elaine Sweetapple; Gordon Thick; D R Vine; J Whitehead;
M Whitehead; L Wood; Felicity Webb… and all those who preferred to remain anonymous. ■
Corporate sponsorship
THANK you to all our corporate sponsors who this year
supported and took part in our conference on Collision
Investigation (see page 6 for more details). Each of the four
law firms provides specialist personal-injury advice for those
involved in road collisions and each has been making valuable
contributions to our work. Our thanks go to Matthew Claxson
(Fentons), Colin Ettinger (Irwin Mitchell), Penny Knight (Leigh
Day & Co) and Carol Jackson (Pannone).
We are developing our corporate sponsorship programme
further. If you work for or know of an organisation that might
be interested in supporting RoadPeace’s work please do let us
know.
Ways to support …
IN previous newsletters we featured the
Fuchsia Becky-Lou, in memory of Dick,
Rebecca and Lucy who were killed in
October 2005. We would like to thank
Florema Young Plants for its generous
support through the sales of these plants
and to let you know that they are still
available to buy, by ordering directly from Thompson Morgan
on 0844 2485383 or www.thompsonmorgan.com/info/plants/fuchsia-beckie-lou
Christmas appeal
CHRISTMAS can be a particularly difficult time of year but
many people choose to support RoadPeace by sending our
Christmas Cards to their family and friends. This year we have
organised for cards to be sold again by 4C for Charity as all
proceeds come directly to RoadPeace. You should find an
order form with this newsletter or visit our website for more
information http://roadpeace.org/involved/support_
us/christmascard
Recent fundraising stories
TWENTY year old Carrie Maclaren was killed by a hit and run
driver in the early hours of New Year’s day, while walking
home with friends.
Friends of her family
organised a concert in July,
to provide ‘a night of music,
dancing and fun, to
celebrate and remember
Carrie’s life’.
They considered several
charities and decided it was
most appropriate to support
RoadPeace and raise funds
for our work.
Catriona Patel
CATRIONA Patel was killed by a lorry on
29 June 2009 while cycling to work. A
keen cyclist, she was looking forward to
racing in the Etape du Tour. As a tribute to
Cat’s life her husband Anish and ten
friends rode the 2010 Etape, raising
sponsorship money for RoadPeace. This
year’s route was through the Pyrennees
and constituted an epic 181km and
4000m of vertical climbing.
EIGHTEEN year old Sophie Harrison was a passenger in a car
that crashed in Canterbury in April 2009. She died of head
injuries two days later and her parents contacted RoadPeace
for support. In July this year they held a
fundraising day on the front lawn of their
house. They raised money for RoadPeace
through a raffle and selling teddy bears made
by Sophie’s grandmother.
RoadPeace bear won by Sophie’s great aunt,
Beryl Wade
Left to right: Carrie’s parents,
Andy and Cathy Maclaren with
Susanna Wright and Ursula
Saunders from RoadPeace
autumn 2010 11

letters Funds
Fundraising and donations
Thank you to all our members who renew their membership each year and give generously through
donations and Gift Aid. We receive no statutory funding and rely entirely on donations from
members and supporters to continue our work, so whatever you give really helps. Thank you.
We are continually inspired by your innovative and creative fundraising ideas, and we are touched
daily by the bravery, ingenuity and dedication that keeps donations coming in. Special thanks go to
those below that have raised money or made donations in recent months;
Donations
❚ From many friends and family of Carrie Maclaren
❚ Mr Baker, donations from a presentation to the Whipton
Social Club Afternoon Group
❚ Funeral donations in memory of Emily Jane Antell
❚ Colleagues of Anne Thick in memory of John Thick to mark
her retirement
❚ Funeral donations in memory of Murdina Strachan and her
late daughter, Moira Ward
❚ Shoppers at Balham Waitrose
❚ Funeral donations in memory of Andrew James Drinkwater
❚ Mrs Hariades
❚ W Fleming
❚ The Hennessys made a donation in lieu of Christmas gifts
❚ Funeral donations in memory of Ian Richard Millard
❚ Funeral donations in memory of Peter Mark Harvey
❚ Mrs Bale
❚ Marchioness Action Group
❚ P and A Hammond
❚ Irwin Mitchell
❚ Cristina Schoenborn in memory of Rebecca Goosen
❚ Brigitte Chaudhry
❚ J Coghill
❚ E Normansell
❚ Postage stamps donated by Nainesh and Daksha Shah
❚ J Butterworth
❚ A Burton
❚ Jill Kynaston and family in memory of Craig Marples
❚ V Halliday
❚ A and M Hanton Trust
❚ W Knowles
❚ Linda Antell
❚ Pat Bentley
❚ M Whyatt
❚ The Sanderson Family
❚ S Simpson
Fundraising events
❚ Mr Vivian took part in the February ‘Ride for RoadPeace’
❚ T Gibson was sponsored for a 17 mile road race round Lake
Conniston
❚ Rosshall Academy held an Easter talent show and non-uniform
day
❚ Various fundraising events held by Yvonne Six
❚ Fentons Solicitors LLP held a dress down day
❚ A football match was held in memory of Carrie Maclaren
❚ The Warm Touch Group held a series of summer concerts
❚ David Midmer organised a triathlon with prisoners at
Altcourse prison
❚ The Bridgnorth and District Snooker League annual
presentation night dinner
❚ Emma, Anya, Elizabeth and
Sophie, pictured right, raised
money selling teddy bears at the
Conon Bridge Summer Fair
❚ Linda Antell held an open
garden event on two days over the summer
❚ The St Ives Cycling Club held its annual 100 mile Winter
Challenge ride
❚ Beccy’s Bacon Butty Day in memory of Beccy Taylor
❚ The Harrisons held a fundraising day in memory their
daughter, Sophie
❚ Benn Harlow completed a 120 mile night bike ride
❚ Samantha Macfarlane completed a sponsored walk in
memory of Marcus James Macfarlane
❚ Employees of Breanheath Ltd and VolksWagen, Farzana
Mhar, Loretta Cains, Kyla, Claire and Charlie Godwin, Paula
Parson and Nicky Shaw who all ran the Great Manchester Run
❚ Daniella Warburton and Lindsey Grinter organised the
Jodanna Memorial Walk
❚ Ben Powell completed a sponsored cycle ride
❚ The Concert for Carrie – in memory of Carrie Maclaren
❚ The Huntingdon Symphonic Wind Orchestra concert
❚ Emma Slocombe completed the Bristol 10k Run in memory
of her cousin, Ben Baker
❚ The Perry family held a fundraising event, in memory of
Ricky Perry
❚ Alan Broadbent cycled 800 miles from Santander to St Malo
in memory of the 2006 Rhyl Cycling Club tragedy
❚ Saffron Bray completed the British 10k London Run
❚ Team Catriona led by Anish Patel cycled the 2010 Etape Du
Tour in memory of Catriona Patel
❚ Melanie Kettle and the Greater Manchester Probation Trust
took part in a Dragon Boat Race
❚ Julia Pennington took part in a 26 mile walk in memory of
her friend, Andreia, walking with Andreia’s family
❚ Michelle Longman completed the Adidas Women’s 5k
Challenge 2010 in memory of her brother, Paul
❚ Elizabeth Clemot-Escobar completed the BUPA Great North
Run in memory of her son, Richard and in tribute to Zoe Stowe
Grants and Trusts
❚ Alex Roberts-Miller Foundation
❚ The 1970 Trust
12 newsletter