A NEW road safety campaign aimed at encouraging young drivers to stay safe has been backed by some of the town’s most influential people - after it was revealed more than 30 young drivers were killed or seriously injured last year.
Barnsley South MP Stephanie Peacock joined Barnsley North MP Dan Jarvis, local councillors and South Yorkshire Police to speak about the issue.
The council recently launched the ‘Don’t Drive Daft’ campaign alongside Barnsley College - urging young people to drive safely on the town’s roads.
In 2023, a total of 84 youngsters aged between 17 and 24 were a casualty in a road traffic collision in Barnsley.
Of those, 31 were killed or seriously injured.
Across the entirety of South Yorkshire, the figure rises to 542 with 167 killed or seriously injured.
The council’s campaign focuses on the five leading causes of road traffic collisions that end in a fatality or a serious injury: speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and distractions.
Coun James Higginbottom, cabinet spokesperson for environment and highways, said: “Road safety is everyone’s responsibility, which is why a campaign such as Don’t Drive Daft is important to draw attention to dangerous behaviours on our roads.
“While this campaign targets younger drivers, all drivers can take the messages included in the videos and apply them to their own driving behaviour, whether that is avoiding distractions, not driving under the influence of drugs or drink and not speeding on our roads.
“We all want Barnsley’s roads to be safer for everyone who uses them, and we hope that the campaign, alongside our wider road safety schemes and Road Safety Strategy, will contribute to a reduction in those killed or seriously injured on our roads.”
The campaign will work alongside the council’s road safety schemes - with the overall aim to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on Barnsley’s roads by at least 50 per cent by 2030 and the long-term goal of zero people killed or seriously injured by 2050.
Ms Peacock told the Chronicle: “I know that road safety in Barnsley has been an important issue and that local people have been really concerned about this.
“I was pleased to bring together South Yorkshire Police and the local council to discuss the actions that can be taken to make Barnsley’s roads safer, alongside my colleague Dan.
“National government has not had a road safety strategy for almost a decade, and this is really concerning.
“I am pleased that this government have committed to improving road safety standards.”
Dan added: “There have been several high profile, tragic road traffic incidents across Barnsley in recent months, which have shocked our town.
“That’s why Stephanie and I met with Barnsley Council and South Yorkshire Police to discuss these incidents and how, more generally, we can ensure roads in our borough are as safe as they possibly can be.
“Together, we must work for a future where tragedies on our roads are less, not more, common.”
