A FOREST councillor says there is “a lot of work to do” to improve road safety in Gloucestershire after a series of “tragic” incidents on the county’s roads recently.

District councillor Nick Evans (Con, Tidenham), who is also Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner (DPCC) for Gloucestershire, was speaking as local partners renewed their commitment to a global road safety project to achieve zero deaths or serious injuries on the county’s roads.

That commitment came at an event to re-launch Gloucestershire’s Road Safety Partnership - which includes the police, fire service and local councils - on December 2.

The partners want to breath new life into joint working and the push towards ‘vision zero’ to reduce serious accidents in the county.

DPCC Evans, who is also chair of the Safer Gloucestershire Board, underlined the importance of the issue by highlighting several fatalities that have occurred in recent weeks.

Those have included the deaths of two people in a collision in the Cotswolds, following which a further 10 people were taken to hospital, and the passing of a 94 year-old great-grandmother from Coleford following a crash on the Coleford to Monmouth road at Staunton.

“We have a lot of work to do, and the tragic incidents we have seen on our roads over the last few weeks bring the reason for that into sharp focus”, DPCC Evans said.

“Now that we have re-established the road safety partnership, I hope we’ll be able to drive a concerted effort from statutory agencies and communities alike to educate all road users and encourage behavioural change.

“This won’t happen overnight, but is a long-term commitment to make Gloucestershire’s roads safer.”

Attendees at the event were told of a new “strategic approach” to improving road safety, along with a new Community Speedwatch Fund which aims to give communities the tools they need to combat speeding in their area.

Superintendent Paul Keasey added that he has been working with the Home Office to develop a road safety joint working toolkit for partners.