New campaign in Lincolnshire aims to cut deaths on the county's roads.

There were 52 fatalities last year.

Rural road.
Author: Andy MarshPublished 2nd Apr 2021

Lincolnshire police say there are still far too many people killed or seriously injured on the county's roads as they launch a new campaign.

During 2020 there were 52 fatalities with almost 4 hundred seriously injured.

Now officers are asking drivers to commit to "slowing down" by displaying bumper stickers available from Stamford police station.

Bourne station is also taking part.

The initiative was thought up by PCSO Dave Bunker.

He researched alternative ways of engaging drivers in road safety campaigns, and found a similar initiative in the USA.

PCSO Bunker, said: “With the help of local drivers and businesses who commit to drive within the speed limit – or lower if the road conditions dictate – speeding could become as socially unacceptable as drink driving or not wearing your seat belt.

“Let’s do this together. If average speeds fell by 1% the number of crashes on our roads would fall by 5%.

Every community across Lincolnshire will know the impact speeding can have on safety, from navigating our many rural roads where blind bends or poor overtaking can mean speeding poses even more of a risk, to keeping the streets where our children go to school or play safe.

“Tackling speeding is an important priority for the residents and people working in my neighbourhood and the rest of Lincolnshire, which is why as a Force we are rolling this out.

John Siddle from Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership, added: “We know around 25% of injury collisions have speed as a contributory factor and all collisions are exacerbated by speed.

In previous enforcement campaigns we have seen drivers, local to their own community, exceeding the speed limit.

What we say to drivers is to slow down in your community as well as other communities where people just like your want a safe place for their families.

"Despite three lockdowns in the last year we have still seen families torn apart by death on our roads, and although the overall number of injury collisions has fallen, the fatalities remained similar to previous years.

We ask all drivers to 'slow down in Lincolnshire', and be that driver who keeps others, and themselves, safe.”

People are also asked to support by sharing social media posts, using #SlowDownInLincolnshire and #drivesafelincs. Drivers are encouraged to take a photo of their vehicle displaying the sticker and tag in their local policing team to help promote the project.