News, Events & Campaigns

Our objective is to make the roads of West Berkshire safer for all our residents, and for all those working in, visiting or passing through West Berkshire. We communicate road safety messages through local and national publicity campaigns, regular attendance at local events and through our Newsletter.

Road safety events

Events

In order to take the road safety message to the public and advise people on a range of road safety issues, the Team take an information stand to a number of key events, shows and exhibitions in the area. The Team has worked with local car dealerships and businesses and has a presence at The Royal County of Berkshire Show and the Newbury Races each year. The stand holds a variety of leaflets and promotional material and visitors are given the opportunity to ask questions, enter competitions and try out the Vision and Reaction Testers, to check their driving eyesight and braking response time. 

PRIDE

The Traffic & Road Safety Team regularly works with the Police, Parishes and the local community using a combination of education and enforcement to address specific road safety issues. Operation PRIDE identifies and educates speeding drivers and those drivers using hand held mobile phones or those not wearing a seatbelt. Road Safety Officers work alongside Police Officers at the roadside to educate motorists flouting the law. Joint initiatives and partnership events, organised by the Council, the Police and Neighbourhood Action Groups are designed to raise awareness of the dangers of speeding and other issues. The Traffic & Road Safety Team welcome the opportunity to work with local partners to reduce speeds and promote safer driving in the district.  Localised Speed Poster Campaign

Posters with a variety of messages on the dangers of exceeding the speed limit and other road safety issues are put up along selected routes in the area, to support the SID programme and encourage drivers to slow down. The posters are rotated and are used for short periods only. This ensures that a number of sites benefit from the positive effects the posters have on speeds and that the impact of the message is not lost.

Drink Drive Campaign

Each year the Team visit local supermarkets and shopping areas in the run up to Christmas, in order to raise awareness of the anti drink drive campaign. Various leaflets and promotional items are distributed to the public in a bid to encourage safer driving and reduce casualties during the Christmas period. 

Radio campaign

The Traffic and Road Safety Team has successfully used radio as a medium of publicising the road safety message. Each message is designed to link to the national Think! Road Safety campaign and is targeted at all road users, of all ages. Topics covered have included child car seats; mobile phones; speed; drink driving and pedestrian safety.

Child car seat checks

Throughout the year the The Traffic & Road Safety Team visit local supermarket car parks and events with trained personnel, in order to advise on the safe fitting of child car restraints.  Child car seat checks are designed to help parents to understand what type of seat they should purchase, how to correctly install the seat in the vehicle and how to check it is secure.

For further details on all of the above, please contact the Road Safety Team.