Road deaths prompt calls for better driver licensing
There are calls for better driver licensing after new figures revealed more than 300 people were killed or seriously injured on roads in Cumbria in 2018.
The findings have been published to mark the start of Road Safety Week.
A UK-wide survey of 2,000 adults, commissioned by the charity Brake, has also shown that nearly a third of adults were in a collision, or had a near miss, with a vehicle on a UK road in the past year.
Road safety campaigners believe that crashes and near misses have a big impact on people's perceptions of safety, making streets feel less welcoming and holding people back from choosing to walk and cycle, modes of transport which reduce the danger for others.
Brake says road danger is a serious issue in the North West of England.
Sharron Huddleston's 18-year old daughter Caitlin was killed in a crash in 2017 when her friend, who had recently passed her driving test, lost control of their car.
Sharron, from Millom, Cumbria, is working with Brake to campaign for a change to the national driver licensing system.
She said: "The death of my daughter, Caitlin, broke my heart. Knowing that Caitlin's death could have been prevented is what pushes me on to campaign for better driver licensing and why I'm encouraging others to Step Up for Safe Streets for Road Safety Week.
"No mother should ever have to go through the pain of losing a child in a road crash but by working together we can try and make sure that tragedies like Caitlin's never happen again."
The charity says Road Safety Week aims to inspire thousands of schools, organisations and communities to take action on road safety and promote life-saving messages.
The awareness week runs between 18 and 22 November.
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