Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster has welcomed support by the region’s Police and Crime Panel for his campaign that cash raised from fixed penalty notice speeding fines, is spent improving road safety here in the West Midlands.
Simon Foster says he’s ‘delighted’ the Panel has written to the government, demanding it lets the £1.6m, raised each year in the region through fixed penalty notices, be spent on road safety schemes in our region.
A public consultation on the issue run by the PCC, saw 93 per cent of respondents back the PCC’s calls. Now the West Midlands Police and Crime Panel has added its backing to the PCC and written to the government calling for the change to happen.
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster said: “As Police and Crime Commissioner and as Chair of the West Midlands Road Safety Strategic Group, preventing, tackling and reducing crime and anti-social behaviour and reducing the number of people, tragically and avoidably killed and seriously injured on our roads are top priorities.
“That is because, the consequences of road traffic collisions are catastrophic and devastating.
“The consultation and this further endorsement from the Police and Crime Panel, has given a clear endorsement for my view, that money raised by speeding fines here in the West Midlands, should be retained here and invested in making our roads safer.”
In their letter to government, the panel says: “We, the West Midlands Police and Crime Panel, support the Commissioner’s campaign so that this money can be invested in additional road safety measures in the region.
“Socially, the devastation caused by road traffic collisions is harrowing on the families and communities affected. Economically, the cost per fatal casualties in 2019 was £2,029,237.
“Excessive speeds by vehicles are a factor in many road traffic collisions. An average of 16,654 fixed penalty tickets are processed by the West Midlands Police ticketing office per year, generating £1,654,000.
“Rather than money from these fines being retained by the Treasury, we support the notion that the money from these fixed penalty fines could be fed directly back into local roads policing or to support local authorities’ road safety activities. “
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