WARWICKSHIRE residents have walked, ran, cycled and horse rode almost 600 miles in support of RoadPeace Challenge, in memory of those killed on the roads.
Between May 13 and 19, road safety partners and the public completed 593.5 miles in support of the challenge, 171 people took part including local schools and an officer who completed a triathlon.
Each mile achieved during the week represents someone who has been killed on our roads and the RoadPeace Challenge is in honour of their memory.
At an event at Hartshill Hayes Country Park, 120 people joined a guided walk to make a united stand against road death and injury, collectively walking a total of 240 miles.
They were joined by Warwickshire, Staffordshire, and Derbyshire road safety partnerships, Project Edward, The British Horse Society and road safety campaigners, Patsy and Robbin Suffield.
In honour of the 19 people killed on Warwickshire roads in 2022, Chris Lewis, office of the police and crime commissioner, James Luckhurst of Project EDWARD (Every Day Without A Road Death), and others, ran 19 miles across Coventry to join the event.
1766 people were killed nationally and the number of miles covered during the week were submitted to RoadPeace in the countdown from 1,766 to zero.
Philip Seccombe, police and crime commissioner for Warwickshire and chair of Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership said: “Road safety is something we should never take for granted because it affects us all.
“The loss of lives on our roads is a powerful reminder of why our work is so important.
“This event shows our community’s dedication to reducing road fatalities and striving towards our vision of zero deaths on our roads.”
Robbin and Patsy Suffield lost their 18 year old son Neil who was killed as a passenger along with four of his teenage friends in 1986 in a 17 year old driver’s car.
They have been campaigning for many years for change to help prevent young driver crashes most recently as part of Forget-me-not Familes Uniting.
Patsy and Robbin Suffield said: “We were delighted to join the event at Hartshill Hayes Country Park and join like-minded people who are doing what they can to improve road safety for everyone and highlight the need for change.
“On Sunday May, 19, we went to the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire for the final mile of the 1766-mile RoadPeace Challenge to bring the week of action to a close.
“We met many other families sharing similar tragic stories and a common campaign through Forget-me-not Families Uniting to help prevent young driver crashes.”
