Road Safety
Safety on our roads affects us all. As a society we would not accept the number of deaths that occur on our roads in any other walk of life.
That is why Road Safety forms a key part of Matthew Barber’s Police and Crime Plan. There is already excellent work taking place to improve the safety of our roads. The focus of this strategy is to prioritise the areas that present the greatest risk, with the long term objective of reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured in Thames Valley.
Thames Valley Police’s Roads Policing Unit operates as part of the Joint Operations Unit in collaboration with Hampshire Constabulary. I support the fantastic work done by their officers and staff – often one of the most challenging roles in policing. Whilst the police have an important role to play in enforcement, much of the preventative work to save lives needs to be carried out in partnership with local authorities and other agencies who are responsible for ensuring a safe road network.
Road Safety Strategy
On Tuesday 22 October 2024, Matthew Barber published his plan to reduce deaths on the roads in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Milton Keynes.
The Road Safety Strategy seeks to strengthen the collaboration between the various agencies responsible for the road network across the Thames Valley with the aim of creating safer roads for all.
Matthew Barber said: “The average number of people killed or seriously injured on the roads in Thames Valley has decreased in the three years since 2020 but we need stronger partnership working, with a focus on our faster, high harm routes, if we are to see further reductions in casualties.
“My Road Safety Strategy outlines the collaboration needed to create a safer road network and save lives. Whether that be enhancing the enforcement capability of the police, designing safer roads or improving the emergency service response when incidents do occur, the police, local authorities, National Highways and the other emergency services all have a role to play in reducing fatalities and enhancing overall traffic safety.”
Key priorities outlined in the Road Safety Strategy include; educating the public about safe driving practices and traffic laws, enforcing traffic laws to deter unsafe behaviour, sharing data to identify collision hotspots and inform improvements to the road network, improving road infrastructure, supporting a swift emergency response to incidents and providing better support for victims.
The Strategy promotes the application of the Safe Systems Approach to road safety – safe behaviour, safe vehicles, safe roads, safe speeds and a rapid post-collision response.
The PCC’s Road Safety Strategy was developed in consultation with Thames Valley Police, highway authorities, councillors, interest groups, road safety and transportation professionals and other key stakeholders.
Download a full copy of the Road Safety Strategy document (opens in PDF).
Thames Valley Road Safety Partnership
As part of the Road Safety Strategy launch, Matthew Barber called on partners from across Thames Valley Police, highways authorities, National Highways, the emergency services and other relevant agencies to establish a Thames Valley Strategic Road Safety Partnership to oversee the implementation of the Safe Systems Approach and deliver the objectives set out in the Road Safety Strategy.
The inaugural meeting of the Thames Valley Road Safety Partnership took place in January 2025 in Oxfordshire. Representatives from a number of Local Authorities across Thames Valley joined Matthew Barber and emergency service colleagues to discuss how we can all work together to support the priorities set out within the Road Safety Strategy. The next meeting of the Road Safety Partnership is due to take place in June 2025.