Vision Zero Strategy unveiled at Lister Park in Bradford

The West Yorkshire Vision Zero Strategy was officially revealed in Lister Park this afternoon.

The 48-page strategy states provisional data suggests that the number of people killed or seriously injured on the county's roads was 1,457 last year - up from 1,413 in 2022 - and describes this upward trend as "deeply concerning".

The strategy to get road deaths and serious injuries on West Yorkshire's roads down to zero by 2040 focuses on the 'safe system approach' - safe roads, safe behaviours, safe speeds, safe vehicles, and an effective post-collision response.

Under each of these themes sit a number of objectives for the short and longer term.

The West Yorkshire Vision Zero Strategy says improvements need to be made to the existing transport network, including through maintenance.

The document also states "we must educate as many people as possible, through schools, workplaces and other channels, to reduce the risk of dangerous behaviours", and it says speed limits on sections on non-motorway roads need to be reviewed to ensure they are appropriate.

"Increased capacity for fixed, average and mobile speed enforcement" is also needed, and it is "vital that vehicle users of all types understand what is safe and legal on the roads, and that those who flout the requirements face action".

The strategy also states improvements need to be made in supporting victims of crashes.

Emergency services, local authorities, National Highways, victim support services, and road safety campaigners are all backing the West Yorkshire Vision Zero Strategy.

Bev and Steve Gough - whose 19-year-old daughter, Naomi, tragically died in a crash in Halifax in 2007 - were at Lister Park today to show their support for the initiative.

Naomi Gough is much-missed (Image: Submitted)

Bev and Steve, of Bailiff Bridge, Brighouse - who set up a road safety charity, the Naomi Cheri Gough Foundation, in their daughter's memory - said life was a "nightmare" since she died.

"You live a life sentence and it's always like the horrors of that night were only yesterday," Steve said.

"Something that really hurts to this day, and always will do, is that we couldn't have a wedding for her."

The couple remembered Naomi as a "lovely, kind and caring" young woman who was "always missed".

Steve and Bev Gough, who campaign for road safety in memory of Naomi (Image: Newsquest/Mike Simmonds)

The Naomi Cheri Gough Foundation offers financial help and emotional support to families of those killed on the roads, as well as educating future motorists about avoiding dangerous driving.

The couple said getting road deaths and serious injuries on West Yorkshire's roads down to zero by 2040 "must happen" because "we don't want anyone else to go through what we've gone through and continue to go through".

Bev urged all road users to "play their part" in helping to achieve the aims set out in the West Yorkshire Vision Zero Strategy.

Alison Lowe, chair of the West Yorkshire Vision Zero Board and Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, told her personal story at the event.

"My sister Debbie would have been 63 this year, had she not been killed by a speeding driver when she was just three-years-old," she said.

"The impact of death or serious injury is immediate, but the pain and devastation for families and the wider community can last for decades.

"I am committed to ensuring we end the scourge of road death for all our communities across West Yorkshire."

She said she believed it was "possible" to eradicate all deaths and serious injuries on West Yorkshire's roads by 2040.

"It's non-negotiable, we have to get there," she added.

Chief Inspector James Farrar, head of West Yorkshire Police's Roads Policing Unit, said: "Serious and fatal road traffic collisions have a devastating effect for all of those involved in them.

"They can end or significantly change a life in a single moment. 

"We carry out daily enforcement on the road network across West Yorkshire and raise awareness of the risks and dangers posed by getting behind the wheel.

"We won't tolerate drivers who present a danger to other road users and are committed to working alongside our partners to ensure the West Yorkshire Vision Zero Strategy makes our roads safer places for all who travel on them."