‘I still live in 2012. I can’t get away from that year.’
Those are the words from a bereaved mother whose daughter was recklessly killed by a speeding driver.
Avril Child has been without her beloved Sarah for more than 12 years.
Sarah, aged just 26, was on her way home in Great Barr, Birmingham, alongside her sisters Hannah and Claire before being struck down by Amirul Islam who was driving at an average of 64mph.
Sister Claire, who was 30 weeks’ pregnant at the time, was also hit but, thankfully, survived and later gave birth to miracle baby Evie.
Sarah’s killer was sentenced to four years and was banned from driving for five years. In 2015, mum Avril travelled to Westminster to win a key change in the law that now means driving bans only begin once offenders have left prison.
Fast-forward to 2024 and Avril is now backing West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster’s campaign, to spend £1.6m-a-year on improving road safety.
The PCC is once again calling on money raised from fixed penalty notices – such as speeding fines and driving without insurance – to be spent on making roads safer in the West Midlands.
An average of 16,654 fixed penalty notices are processed by West Midlands Police per year which, in turn, generates £1.6m in income for the HM Treasury.
The money is paid into the government’s bank account, The Consolidated Fund, which supports general expenditure on public services across England and Wales.
Last summer, PCC Simon Foster launched a public consultation and 93 per cent of respondents agreed that money raised from locally-issued fixed penalty fines should stay in the region rather than be sent to HM Treasury.
However, in May, the Department for Transport rejected PCC Simon Foster’s proposals citing ‘fines being paid into The Consolidated Fund avoids creating incentives for the sake of generating revenues’.
Not deterred by the previous government’s decision, PCC Simon Foster is once again campaigning for fixed penalty fine money to be spent on improving road safety locally, and has called on the support of the new government in Westminster.
Mum and grandmother Avril, meanwhile, is also backing the PCC having gone through the trauma of losing a loved one due to a speeding driver.
“I support Simon’s campaign,” she said. “I couldn’t believe his pledge got rejected in the first place. It was a real smack in the face to all of the bereaved families who have lost loved ones to dangerous driving and road collisions.
“There’s so many people getting killed by speeding drivers and, at the end of the day, more needs to be spent on road safety.
“Just look at the devastation it causes – we’ve had the poor lad who was ran over in Coventry by a speeding driver. It just ruins lives and families aren’t the same anymore.
“I lost Sarah and Claire was badly injured – all because of a speeding driver. There needs to be a lot more done and the Police and Crime Commissioner’s campaign will go a long way to protect and save lives.”
On life without her daughter, Avril added: “I still live in 2012. I can’t get away from that year. I don’t even have photos around because I can’t look at them anymore. It’s like I’ve buried it to stop myself thinking about it all of the time because it’s just so emotionally draining.
“I lost Sarah all because of a speeding driver who was late for work. My daughter’s life wasn’t worth an extra 10 minutes?
“An equivalent to a family each day are getting killed by reckless, speeding drivers – and that’s not including the people who are injured and in hospital and pass away at a later date.
“If it was their children, I’m sure something would be done about it. There’s nowhere near enough being spent on road safety at the moment and that’s why I want to campaign with Simon to have fixed penalty notice funds ring fenced locally.”
PCC Simon Foster said: “My heart goes out to Avril and to every single family who have been devastated, as a result of an entirely avoidable and needless road collision.
“Reducing the number of people tragically and avoidably killed and seriously injured on our roads will always be of paramount importance.
“That is because the consequences of road traffic collisions are catastrophic. The consultation I launched last year gave a clear endorsement for my view that money raised by fixed penalty fines in the West Midlands, should be retained here and invested in making our roads safer.
The PCC added: “Currently, the cost of installing, maintaining and enforcing speed cameras falls entirely on local authorities and the police. Therefore, it is not cost neutral to West Midlands Police who enforce the cameras, nor to the local authorities who own the cameras.
“Enforcement of excessive and reckless speeding on our roads, should not come at a cost to local authorities or the police.
“The money, around £1.6m per year, could be used locally to improve safety on the road network, for all road users through interventions such as driver-targeted behaviour-change programmes and infrastructure enhancements, to make use of the roads safe for pedestrians and cyclists.
“The motivation for my proposal is not around using speed cameras as money-makers. Speed enforcement is not about raising revenue, but is an investment in reducing the number of people tragically and avoidably killed and seriously injured on our roads, due to excessive and reckless speeds.”
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