Paul Waugh, Labour and Co-operative MP for Rochdale, has secured major victories on three of his long-running road safety campaigns, after the government confirmed new national action to crack down on illegal ghost number plates, strengthen the response to drug driving, and introduce eyesight testing for older drivers.
The announcement comes against a stark national backdrop. Around four people are killed on Britain’s roads every day, with many more left seriously injured each year. After more than a decade of stalled progress, the UK has fallen behind other European countries on road safety, with countless deaths and life-changing injuries that could have been prevented.
Many of the measures have been welcomed by bereaved families who have campaigned for the law to be tightened to prevent others suffering the devastating and lasting impact of road deaths.
All three issues, which Mr Waugh has repeatedly pressed for in Parliament and through Rochdale-led campaigning, are now central parts of the government’s new Road Safety Strategy.
The strategy commits the government to new legislation and national enforcement action against illegal ‘ghost’ number plates, which are used by criminals to evade police cameras and avoid detection.
Rochdale Trading Standards’ Operation Ghost exposed the scale of the problem nationally. Mr Waugh took that fight into Parliament, co-sponsored legislation to toughen penalties, and repeatedly challenged ministers to act. The new strategy confirms that crackdown.
The strategy also delivers a major step forward on drug driving. Following Mr Waugh’s parliamentary campaigning, including raising the case of eight-year-old Blake Clarke who was killed in a cocaine-related crash, the government will now bring forward new measures on drug and drink driving, including tougher enforcement powers and preventative technology.
It also confirms that the government will introduce mandatory eyesight testing for drivers over 70. This follows Mr Waugh’s campaigning with bereaved families after the death of Anne Ferguson in Whitworth, and his calls for the law to be changed to close dangerous loopholes around visual impairment and driving.
Mr Waugh said:
“This is a major victory for road safety campaigning that has come straight out of Rochdale.
“On ghost plates, Rochdale Trading Standards exposed a national scandal and I took that fight into Parliament. On drug driving, I stood in the Commons and spoke about Blake Clarke’s death because no government should ignore the reality of what is happening on our roads. On eyesight checks, families like Anne Ferguson’s forced us to confront a system that was clearly failing.
“Today, all three of those campaigns are being turned into national action. That matters, because it means lives will be saved.”
He added:
“These changes are not headlines, they are hard-won. They come from families who refused to stay silent and from local campaigners and enforcement teams who did the work. I am proud that Rochdale has helped force this shift.”
The new Road Safety Strategy is the first in more than a decade and sets out a plan to cut deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s roads by 65% by 2035, with a 70% target for children under 16.
The wider strategy includes consultations on lowering the drink drive limit, unchanged since 1967, introducing a three or six month minimum learning period for learner drivers, mandating 18 new vehicle safety technologies, creating a new Road Safety Investigation Branch and Road Safety Board, and adopting the internationally recognised Safe System approach to road safety.
Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander said:
“Every life lost on our roads is a tragedy that devastates families and communities. For too long, progress on road safety has stalled. This strategy marks a turning point.
“We are taking decisive action to make our roads safer for everyone, from new drivers taking their first lessons to older motorists wanting to maintain their independence. The measures we are announcing today will save thousands of lives over the coming decade.”
Mr Waugh added:
“For too long, dangerous driving, drug driving and loopholes in the system have gone unchallenged. This strategy proves that sustained campaigning can change national policy. The task now is to make sure these commitments are delivered and enforced, so fewer families ever have to hear the words that so many in Rochdale already have.”