Senior police officer calls on government to tackle road danger, after completing record-breaking challenge
Det Chief Supt Andy Cox, who is Head of Crime at Lincolnshire Police, completed a 200km run on Sunday 23 May, breaking the individual fundraising record for RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims. So far over £41,000 has been raised.
He embarked on the ambitious challenge during Global Road Safety Week, which ran from May 17-23, 2021.
Starting at the location of the first ever UK fatal road collision, near Crystal Palace, in London, the run ended at the RoadPeace Wood at the National Memorial Arboretum, in Staffordshire, which provides a symbolic and comforting place for bereaved families.
Det Chief Supt Cox, who is the national lead for fatal collision investigation, reporting to the National Police Chiefs’ Council, became well-known in 2020 when he led a social media campaign to reduce speeding.
As well as raising money for RoadPeace, he has used the run to call out society’s complacency towards the five people killed every day in Britain on the roads.
The #AndyCox200km run concludes tomorrow but we must continue the road danger conversation and support @RoadPeace. This video is a call for action – parliamentarians, road safety leaders and the public at large, it's time. pic.twitter.com/KXNSqkPFSQ
— Andy Cox (@AndyCoxDCS) May 22, 2021
Having completed the challenge, Det Chief Supt Cox posted a call to action for more to be done to reduce death and injury on the roads in Britain. He has called for:
- The names of those who have been killed in road crashes in the last year to be read in parliament
- The length of mandatory driving bans for drivers convicted of causing death by dangerous or careless driving to be increased
- A review of the exceptional hardship defence, which enables defendants to continue driving after having more than twelve points on their license
- Introduction of mandatory dashcam, alco-locks, event-data recorders and speed limiters on vehicles
- The right language being used media when reporting collisions – using the word ‘crash’ not ‘accident’
Det Chief Supt Cox said:
“Five people being killed and over sixty people seriously injured on the roads every day is not inevitable. Much more needs to be done to prevent the needless suffering caused by road danger.
Whilst the challenge and UN Global Road Safety Week has put the issue in the spotlight, coordinated action is needed by government to tackle it.”
Nick Simmons, RoadPeace CEO said
“The record-breaking sum that DCS Andy Cox has raised will help us to continue providing much needed support for crash victims and their families. We are immensely grateful to DCS Andy Cox for raising money for RoadPeace, but equally that he is bringing attention to issue of road danger. Road deaths have stayed at the same level since 2010 – at around 1,800 people killed in Britain every year – which equates to five people killed every day.
The devastation caused by these crashes is preventable, and we are grateful that DCS Andy Cox is using his voice to call out society’s tolerance to road danger.”
ENDS
Media enquiries:
Please contact Victoria Lebrec, Head of Policy, Campaigns and Communications at RoadPeace on 07807 198361 or at Victoria.Lebrec@roadpeace.org.
Updated on: 24 May 2021