New Save A Life campaign launched

SAVE a Life and don't become a statistic!

That's the stark warning being issued by a new campaign that is being launched today in a dramatic bid to cut the toll of road deaths across the county.

And with a special focus on the Waveney area, The Journal is today teaming up with the Suffolk Roadsafe Partnership to help spearhead a hard-hitting drive towards “a safer Suffolk.”

By working with key agencies in the county, including Suffolk County Council and Suffolk Constabulary, the aim is to reduce the numbers of people who are killed or seriously injured on our roads.

Given the misery caused by lives that are lost on the roads, a call is today going out to all motorists and road users in Lowestoft and Waveney to act now so you don't become another victim.

Last year, there were 38 major incidents on the Waveney roads with 40 people killed or seriously injured (KSI). Countywide, there were 39 deaths and 265 people who were injured in Suffolk in 2007.

But already this year there have alarmingly been 19 deaths and 199 people seriously injured in crashes on the county roads.

To reduce this worrying trend, more police have been on the streets since September as part of the campaign to catch these culprits who continue to break the law - with 1,100 motorists having already been caught committing a traffic offence on Suffolk's roads.

And given there has been recorded on average more than four people killed or seriously injured in Waveney each month during 2003-2007, the message is to put a stop to the rising statistics and help prevent any more unnecessary misery.

Chief Inspector Martin Barnes-Smith, who heads roads policing in Suffolk, said: “We are very grateful to the Lowestoft Journal for supporting this campaign. Officers countywide are carrying out extra enforcement, particularly around wearing seatbelts, speeding, using a mobile phone and drink driving.

“This campaign is about changing drivers' behaviour and, in turn, saving lives,” he said.