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Memorial stone to mark lives lost or injured along SW roads

by Beaulieu | May 11, 2010 at 11:59 pm

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In Bath a memorial stone will be unveiled on 22 May to mark those slaughtered or injured along the roads in the South West of England.

I hope there will be more of these memorials round the country. Hopefully it will make people think and take responsibility for their actions.

On Saturday, 22 May, at 11am a memorial stone is being unveiled in Bath to recognise and remember ‘lives lost and broken on south west roads’.

Bath & North East Somerset Council has donated the site in a small garden off Lower Borough Walls near the new Southgate shopping development.

The memorial has been carved using Bath stone from the Limpley Stoke mine by the sculptor Yannick Li Ah Kane, who lives locally.

The project is led by Barbara Davies, the widow of the former Dean of Science Professor Dai Davies. The couple lost their daughter in a road collision 18 years ago..

All are welcome to attend the ceremony, whether or not they have been directly affected, and are welcome to bring photographs and a single stem flower to place on the memorial during the ceremony. This will be a time for reflection and an opportunity to meet others.

The UK Charity Roadpeace want to tackle bad driving:

Driving licence is seen as a right, not a privilege that must be earned and maintained.

Risk taking and law breaking on the road is not seen as ‘real crime’.

Traffic law enforcement is a low priority for the Home Office and senior police.

There is limited enforcement and low penalties for life threatening behaviour, such as using a mobile phone whilst driving.

Soft popular measures are not held to the same standard of evaluation/evidence as hard enforcement and engineering measures.

What Road Peace Wants:

Greater priority to be given to reducing the threat from illegal drivers.

Evidence based policy and more trials of such measures as vehicle speed limiters and average speed cameras.

Police/Community safety and anti-social behaviour consultations to include bad driving.

Greater priority given to taking bad drivers off the road.

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Jack Green Dublin (not verified)

at 02:51 on May 12th, 2010

This is a great Initiative so long as it is in a Prominent position and not hidden away in some obscure spot that no one can see it unless they Stumble across it.I suppose the best way to slow that Traffic down is some sort of Physical Barrier and not just Threats that Motorists just ignore. Like Road Humps that will Damage the Vehicle if they go over it to fast,or narrowing the Road severely with Metal Barriers on either side of the Road forcing Motorists to Drive very slowly or else risk getting their Cars Damaged. If you Kill someone then a Mandatory Prison Sentence of Seven Years without Parole and being Barred for Life from Driving a Vehicle. There is always some Lunatic that is going to break the Rules unless Harsh measures is taken.