Devon and Cornwall Police Chief Calls for Urgent Action on Road Safety

Devon and Cornwall’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Alison Hernandez, has highlighted the urgent need to improve road safety across the region.

In a statement, Hernandez pointed to concerning statistics from last year, noting that 57 people were killed and 614 seriously injured on roads in Devon and Cornwall. Across Great Britain, 1,633 deaths and 27,904 serious injuries were recorded. Hernandez stressed that these figures represent real people—family members, friends, and loved ones whose lives have been devastated by road collisions.

Hernandez expressed frustration that road deaths are often seen as inevitable. “If these numbers related to people dying in any other way, there would be a national outcry demanding action,” she said. “I cannot accept that crashes are simply part of the landscape.”

She highlighted the work of the Vision Zero South West road safety partnership, which she helped establish in 2019. The partnership aims to reduce fatalities and serious injuries by 50% by 2030, with the ultimate goal of eliminating them entirely.

“The partnership runs initiatives year-round, and National Road Safety Week helps shine a spotlight on this work,” Hernandez said. Programs include Learn2Live, a theatre-based education scheme for learner drivers; motorcycle training to improve skills and awareness; child pedestrian safety programs in schools; and support for older motorists to drive safely for longer.

The partnership also focuses on enforcement and technology. Officers conduct targeted operations to remove dangerous drivers from the roads, enforce speed limits, and use AI-powered cameras to detect seatbelt violations, mobile phone use while driving, and impaired driving.

Hernandez called for stronger legislative support to make a real difference. “Partnerships like ours only have so much power. We urgently need a national road safety strategy from the central government—the first in over a decade—to protect lives on our roads,” she said.