Mayor responds to road ‘state of emergency’ after spate of deaths and says ‘this is what I’m going to do’

After a spate of tragedies on Birmingham’s roads in recent days, the West Midlands mayor has vowed to crack down on “mindless drivers”. The roads of the Second City were once again littered with dead this week, with one pedestrian killed on the pavement on Great Hampton Street and another injured last Sunday, July 21.

A man was killed on Boldmere Road in Sutton Coldfield on Thursday, July 25, while outside a bar. He was named locally as Aiden. An 18-year-old man was also killed and two others injured on the A45 Coventry Road at the Kings Road junction in Yardley in the early hours of Friday 26 July.

Road safety campaigners Better Streets for Birmingham traveled to Old Snow Hill on Saturday to call for better safety measures to stop the deaths on the city’s roads. But some drivers honked their horns and one confronted the protesters, telling them “you better move” and “don’t stand in the middle of the road or you’ll get killed”.

READ MORE: City calls ‘state of emergency’ with three dead, four injured in five days

Now newly elected West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker has said he will take immediate action to prevent more people from dying on the region’s roads. He tweeted: “It is a tragedy that so many innocent lives are being lost on our roads due to the dangerous behavior of mindless drivers. This cannot continue. Here’s how I will take immediate action to prevent more deaths on our roads.

“During the election I committed to working with partners across the West Midlands to keep our residents safe and to fight the criminals who use our streets as racetracks. I promised to do whatever it takes to prevent people from being tragically and avoidably killed and seriously injured on our roads. I intend to fulfill this promise.

“I will be meeting as a matter of urgency with Birmingham Council leader John Cotton and Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster to put in place the necessary action to help tackle this scourge. I will also raise the matter with Transport Secretary Louise Haigh at our meeting next week.”

He continued: “Birmingham City Council has written to the chief constable of West Midlands Police – and they support the need for urgency. While law enforcement through the police is crucial, our plan must be much more than that.

“We have also spoken to all the WMCA (West Midlands Combined Authority) member authorities and it has been agreed that working together to tackle the road hazard is a priority for the West Midlands as a whole.

“This is a problem that is destroying our region, which is why we need immediate and unwavering focus. I will bring together all partners in the region to help us achieve Vision Zero. No death on our roads is acceptable, so we must strive to protect everyone on the network.”