August was designated National Road Victim Month by RoadPeace after Diana, Princess of Wales was killed in a crash in 1997. She was killed on August 31st, the same day as the world’s first motor vehicle victim, Mary Ward, was killed in Ireland in 1869. Britain’s first road death also occurred in August, when Bridget Driscoll was killed in Crystal Palace on August 17th 1896, with the coroner pronouncing “this must never happen again”. Since then, well over half a million people have been killed on the roads in Britain, current figures reporting that five people are killed every day, and over 60 are seriously injured.
For the last 20 years, during this special month, RoadPeace has held a wonderful annual ceremony, which has brought people together to remember loved ones in the beautiful setting of the RoadPeace Wood at the National Memorial Arboretum.
The RoadPeace Wood Ceremony of Remembrance to honour crash victims is now available to watch online.
You can view it directly on our YouTube Channel.
Updated on: 22 August 2022