Welcome to the autumn 2023 series of the Project Edward podcast. My name is James Luckhurst and every week for the next couple of months I'm going to be hearing from all sorts of people relating to their role in the Safe System. Today we're starting in the middle of the countryside at Hartshill Hays country park in Warwickshire. In a moment, I'm going to be heading to the new memorial to road traffic victims, which was unveiled by Sharron Huddleston earlier in the summer. But before meeting Sharron, let's familiarise ourselves with a few people whose efforts and energy have ensured that this memorial could come into existence. It's a wet day, but hopefully no one will be put off by the rain.

My name is James Luckhurst and every week for the next couple of months I'm going to be hearing from all sorts of people relating to their role in the Safe System. Today we're starting in the middle of the countryside at Hartshill Hays country park in Warwickshire. In a moment, I'm going to be heading to the new memorial to road traffic victims, which was unveiled by Sharron Huddleston earlier in the summer. But before meeting Sharron, let's familiarise ourselves with a few people whose efforts and energy have ensured that this memorial could come into existence. It's a wet day, but hopefully no one will be put off by the rain.

PCC

So I'm Philip Seccombe, I'm the Police and Crime Commissioner for Warwickshire and I chair the Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership.

Sharon

I'm Sharon Hilton and I work for the Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership.

Fay

Fay Cannon, Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership Coordinator.

Chris

Chris Lewis policy lead on road safety roads policing for Mr. Philip Seccombe.

James

Let's start then. We are here at this country park and it's pouring with rain, but that won't deter our spirits. We're going to go over shortly to take a look at the memorial that was unveiled recently. Let's get the story to the memorial then. Commissioner, if you can start to explain why did you think it was a good idea and what was the process.

PCC

In my role in road safety, along with all the others gathered here today, we felt that there was a gap in victims of collisions and the effect that had on families and loved ones. We felt that it was the right thing to do, as well as having the IRVA, which is the independent road victims advisor. We thought a permanent memorial would be somewhere just for families and loved ones together who have suffered a loss. This isn't about blame. This is just somewhere to think it through, to get a bit of solace, a bit of quiet. It's a lovely location with superb views and this goes along with all the other things we're trying to do, which is expand the roads policing. For example, we talked and County Council are a big part of the road partnership, road safety partnership. And we're looking engineering works there and our office has been doing quite a lot of education, so there's lots going on.

James

There are no names on it. Is that a specific decision by somebody?

PCC

I don't think so. I think it's just somewhere to go. I don't think it's necessarily like a war memorial. I don't think it's that sort of thing. Somewhere to be quiet and peaceful. I don't think there'll be lots of ceremonies there over the years, but that's something we could think about.

James

Let's move and talk to Sharon Hilton. Sharon, what sort of reactions have you heard from people who've come to visit the memorial and who were perhaps at the unveiling and who were able to spend some quiet time there?

Sharon

I think the sheer scale of the memorial, the beauty of it, surprised people. We tried to keep it fairly under wraps, exactly what it was until we got right up to the unveiling event, so I think it exceeded all expectations on the day. The actual location is fantastic. Unfortunately we haven't got a very good day today, but on a clear day where it is, it's at the highest point of Hartshill Hays Park. You can see across all four counties from Staffordshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Warwickshire and it truly is stunning. It's extremely quiet and peaceful up there, uninterrupted views and just somewhere that you can get some solace and remember those that you've lost or those that have been seriously injured. The design is based on the Tree of Life, which we thought was extremely poignant to what we were trying to achieve. And on the actual memorial there are leaves, so each leaf represent a life that was either injured or lost rather than names. We thought that was more appropriate on this occasion.

James

Let's move over to talk to Fay Cannon then. What sort of impact do you reckon that the memorial has the potential to have?

Fay

James

Let's complete the first rotation and talk to Chris Lewis. I think it was your idea at the very beginning, is that right? And how pleased are you that it's now in place?

Chris

James

Are there others of their type there?

Chris

A few, three or four. I'm aware of one up in Merseyside and there is the National Road Peace Memorial at the arboretum in Staffordshire, but there is nothing actually like ours at all. And I was just thinking about what Sharon was saying about what sort of reaction did we get? If there was one word which stood out from the reaction, it was people saying, this is just stunning and okay, today's not the best of days, but on the right day it is a stunning looking memorial and there's nothing else like it in the country so far. I hope more will come, but at the moment that stands out on its own.

James

Now, I have a challenge for all of you to consider and to reflect on your role within the safe system. It's something that's central to this series of podcast interviews that will be going on over the coming weeks. So you're very welcome to take a few moments and have a think. Let's start with you, Commissioner, then. What's your role within the safe system?

PCC

James

Sharon, your turn. What's your role as part of the partnership?

Sharon

Our role is to get everybody on board. We can't achieve any of this on our own as just a standalone, so it needs to be cooperative working. So we need workshop police on board, fire and Rescue, Ambulance, NHS, we work closely with National Highways, we're actively promoting drive for better business as the more organisations that we can get on board, the greater our chance to achieve the goals that we're trying to achieve.

James

All right, let me put this challenge to you. Someone's just dried their hands. You probably heard that very loud noise in the background. If you were to confront that person and ask them if they knew about the safe system and you to explain it to them, what might you say? Because for it to work, it's got to go beyond partnerships and collaborations between stakeholders and it's got to hit the public.

Sharon

It is it is about everybody, every single road user, taking responsibility and playing their part. We need them to be on board and we do that by a series of social media posts, of holding events, going out to community events to explain what the partnership is, what it's about, what the safe system is and how we need them to play their part in that.

James

Fay Cannon, do you feel that you are a key player within the safe system?

Fay

Yeah, absolutely. As the coordinator of the partnership, I feel like we have taken on all elements of the safe system and found new initiatives and work that we can do and bring in other partners. And then looking upwards, I feel nationally we are then sharing what we've done in Warwickshire and sharing it with other local authorities and at a national level to show that we need safety performance indicators to monitor those targets and understand where else we can go from there.

James

How are we going to get those performance monitors? We've been calling them for some while, since they were abolished. What do we do?

Fay

I think it's all coming together, looking at what data we've got nationally, so we have a consistent approach and understanding how that relates to that target of reduction. We work very closely with Agilisys, who've been doing some work over the last couple of years around understanding what local authorities and local road safety partnerships have that data and what we can use nationally to monitor

James

Chris Lewis. The police have the opportunity to reach those who choose to sit outside. What are the techniques that might work? And let's just reflect on the role of enforcement within the safe system.

Chris

James

Sharron

It was really special, actually, that Chris Lewis approached me after meeting him at a break conference. I was really honoured that he approached me and asked me if I would like to unveil the memorial in remembrance of all road crash victims. That really meant a lot to me. Yeah, I was honoured to be asked, actually.

James

Let's talk about the work that you do, because I believe you campaign tirelessly to raise awareness of road safety. So what sort of things have been on your agenda recently?

Sharron

Sharron

As I know now, through all the research that I've read and academics that I speak to, that Caitlin could be alive today if we had that law. And so I'm very passionate about that, about keeping our younger generation safe on the road. And I'm also trying to raise awareness and get the message out to parents about the dangers posed to young drivers and young passengers to tell parents, think twice before you let your child get in a car with a newly qualified driver. Or if your child has just passed, maybe say to them, don't carry passengers yet. And I'm really thankful to Edmund King from the AA that he helped me produce the Caitlin's message information pages that are in the first car magazines that are handed out to newly qualified drivers through driving instructors, I guess.

James

You meet politicians, you tell them your story, they sound concerned, they listen and then nothing happens. It must feel like you're banging your head against a brick wall sometimes.

Sharron

Yes, it does feel like that, actually, because actually, I found out that for decades before Caitlin was killed in these circumstances, that many other families and MPs have all been calling for road safety. Charities have all been calling for this law to be implemented in the UK, but unfortunately, we don't seem to be getting one politician that's actually standing up and saying, come on, we've got to get this implemented as soon as possible. I know Andrea Leadsom backs it. She held a Westminster Hall debate in January, which was absolutely brilliant. At the moment, no, we don't seem to be having that one MP or politician saying, yes, let's get this done. And that is very frustrating because it is like a bit of I kind of explain it as like a game of snakes and ladders. You think you're getting up the board and then all of a sudden you're back down again, kind of thing. You keep getting these promises and we thought things were moving, put it that way. And now things seem to have come to a standstill again, which is heartbreaking, because I keep reading online and being approached by parents that have lost children in the same circumstances that Caitlin was killed in.

James

Do you have the energy and the inspiration to continue with what you're trying to do, though?

Sharron

I do, because this, I feel, is my way of doing something still for Caitlin. I now need to be a voice for Caitlin and I know she would want me to do this. She wouldn't want anybody to lose their life like she did. She was only 18 years old. The girls weren't doing anything wrong in the crash. It was simply down to inexperience entering a bend a little too fast on a wet road, on a country road, which is where most young deaths occur, is on rural roads. So, yes, Caitlin would be totally behind me and saying, come on, mom, get that message out to everybody. And that is my focus now. That is where I focus. My grief for Caitlin is doing this and I need to do this to keep my mind busy as well, do you know what I mean? So I feel it keeps me close to Caitlin.

James

Well, that was just the first episode. There are eight episodes in this series. We'd love you to share and tell your friends and spread the word. We'll be back in seven days time with our next episode, so we look forward to talking to you then. Meanwhile, thanks very much for listening.