On Thursday (21 November), during national Road Safety Week,
Greater Manchester's road safety partners came together to launch
a £1million fund to improve road safety across the city-region at
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service's (GMFRS)
state-of-the-art Training and Safety Centre in Bury.
The Vision Zero Innovation Fund will be used to support Greater
Manchester's Vision Zero ambition – to eradicate death and
life-changing injuries on our roads by 2040, while reducing it by
50% by the end of the decade.
The fund, available to partners of the Safer Roads Greater
Manchester Partnership, can be used on engineering, education,
training, publicity, or enforcement projects aimed at progressing
that ambition.
Almost 10,000 people have been killed or seriously injured on
Greater Manchester's roads since 2014 and in 2023 alone, 754
people were seriously injured and 45 lost their lives – each
death was preventable.
, Deputy Mayor of Greater
Manchester for Safer and Stronger Communities, said:
“Deaths and serious injuries on our roads have been normalised
for too long and there is no other form of transport where this
would be tolerated.
“Road casualties have an immeasurable impact on families, friends
and communities. This is why we've set out our Vision Zero
ambition – to end all road deaths and life-changing injuries.
“Bold action is needed. Our Vision Zero Innovation Fund is just
one part of our commitment to delivering this change. I'm excited
to see the new and innovative ways our emergency services, local
authorities and wider partners can work together to achieve
this.”
In 2022, road casualties in Greater Manchester cost almost £500m
in medical, emergency services, damage to property, insurance
costs and lost output, and this does not account for the
devastating human cost of losing a loved one.
GMFRS now attends more road traffic collisions than fires.
Dave Russel, Chief Fire Officer of GMFRS and Chair of the
Vision Zero Strategic Steering Group, said:
“Our service is fully committed to working together with our
partners to deliver the change we need to eradicate deaths and
life-changing injuries from our roads and the Innovation Fund
will support us on that journey.
“Over the past 12 months, our crews have attended nearly 2,000
road traffic collisions and too often witness the heartbreaking
consequences of road traffic collisions on the families, friends
and loved ones of those involved.
“By working together and taking decisive action, we can prevent
unnecessary deaths and life-changing injuries and make Greater
Manchester a safer place for us all.”
The Vision Zero Innovation Fund is part of a wider commitment by
road safety partners across the city-region to eliminate all
traffic fatalities and life-changing injuries while increasing
safe, healthy and equitable mobility for all.
The Safer Roads Partnership, which includes emergency services,
local authorities and wider road safety partners, runs various
intervention and prevention projects throughout the year while
Transport for Greater Manchester continues to invest
millions in ‘School Streets' and an integrated and
affordable public transport system that is accessible to all.
Greater Manchester endorsed a draft Vision
Zero Strategy in January 2024, and an Action Plan
setting out the steps emergency services, local authorities and
partner agencies intend to take to deliver it will be considered
by leaders of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) on
Friday 29 November.
Notes to editors
The Safer Roads Greater Manchester Partnership (SRGM) partner
organisations are:
- Bolton Council
- Bury Council
- Greater Manchester Combined Authority
- Greater Manchester Fire and RescueService
- Greater Manchester Police
- Manchester City Council
- National Highways
- Oldham Council
- Rochdale Council
- Salford Council
- Stockport Council
- Tameside Council
- Trafford Council
- Transport for Greater Manchester
- Wigan Council
