STOP THE MADNESS! Our campaign calls on East Lancashire’s ‘dangerous’ drivers to clean up their act

In the past six months 12 people have been killed on East Lancashire’s roads and 1,843 injured.

New figures also show in the past year 47 children were either killed or seriously injured.

Now we are calling on motorists to ‘Stop The Madness’.

We want for tougher sentences for convicted dangerous drivers, better training to raise standards of driving and more enforcement to ensure the ‘lunatic’ drivers are put behind bars.

The campaign has already been backed in Parliament by the Transport Minister and MPs and by police, local authorities, road safety charities, Lancashire Road Safety Partnership and those who have suffered the consequences of poor and dangerous driving.

It comes as police and council bosses have announced a prolonged crackdown on dangerous and irresponsible drivers to ensure the county’s roads are safer.

During a debate in the Commons, in which Hyndburn MP Graham Jones and Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson backed the campaign and stressed the urgent need to make the region’s roads safer, Transport Minister Andrew Jones said: “Mr Stephenson raises a critical issue because in spite of our enviable national record 730 people lost their lives on British roads last year.

“Media campaigns in this area can be very helpful so I do indeed support the Lancashire Telegraph campaign in principle and look forward to hearing more when the campaign starts.”

Stop The Madness calls for:

• Banning under-25s being able to hire high-performance vehicles.
• Standards of driver training/ testing being raised.
• Probationary driver status to be compulsory for the first 12 months after passing a test.
• Increased use of CCTV on dangerous roads identified by the public as regular routes for speeding or dangerous drivers.
• Drivers with no insurance to face a mandatory driving ban of at least 12 months.
• A halt to any further cuts to traffic police numbers.
• Stronger sentences for anyone convicted of dangerous driving.
• Mandatory re-education and training programme for any driver convicted of careless or dangerous driving.

Mr Jones said: “Four people every day get killed on Britain’s roads. We have all witnessed lunatic drivers who have no regards for the safety of others.

“If it is not lunatic drivers it’s careless drivers distracted by using their mobile phones. Cars are dangerous machines in the wrong hands and the Lancashire Telegraph’s ‘Stop the Madness’ campaign is most welcome. We need to constantly remind people of the dangers that are out there. This is a matter of life and death.”

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans said young drivers in particular needed to pay attention to the campaign and backed the call for tougher sentences to be dished out.

Mr Evans said: “The fact that somebody can plough into someone and kill them and get months in prison devalues the life that has been lost.

“If people knew they would spend years in jail they would think long and hard before they got behind the wheel. This is a great campaign and it is going to save lives.”

Mr Stephenson said: “Road safety and the poor driving is a massive issue in Pendle and East Lancashire.

“Everybody needs to work together to improve road safety and ensure people can get behind the wheel, ride a bike or walk the streets without fear of being hit by someone driving in a reckless manner.”

Over the coming months police have vowed to crack down on drivers breaking the law, with a specific aim of targeting those who speed, use mobile phones while driving, drive in an anti-social manner, drink-drive, don’t wear seatbelts and those who don’t appropriately use child seats.

Inspector Abid Khan said: “We know there is a problem on our roads because our communities and officers tell us.

“I want to reassure people road safety is a policing priority and while I know the majority of drivers stay within the law, there is a group that choose to ignore it and put other road users at risk.

“It is this group that we will be targeting in the coming months.

“Ultimately, though, this is a partnership that includes our communities. Together we need to raise awareness of the dangers of speeding, drink driving, using a mobile phone when driving and not wearing a seatbelt.”

The campaign, which has also been backed by East Lancashire’s four other MPs and the leaders of the borough councils, has been launched to coincide with road safety charity Brake’s road safety week that runs this week.

Gary Rae, campaigns director for Brake, said: “This is an important and welcome campaign from the Lancashire Telegraph which we wholeheartedly support.

“As we launch Road Safety Week we will be talking about all of the issues covered in this campaign. It’s clear that speeding and using a mobile while driving are still major issues that we need to crack down on.

“As well as being a campaigning charity, we also run a support and helpline service for families bereaved by road crashes. It’s vital that their stories are heard. I know that the Telegraph will ensure that this happens.”

During the campaign the Lancashire Telegraph will also be speaking to victims and relatives whose lives have been left devastated by dangerous or careless driving.

We are also calling on readers to send in dashcam footage of dangerous or reckless driving. Whether that be unsafe U-turns, dangerous overtaking, speeding or motorists failing to react or take notice of road signs.

Email your footage to lt_editorial@nqnw.co.uk.