Grieving families go on camera to reveal the tragic impact of reckless driving

Families whose loved ones have had their lives taken on the region’s roads have expressed their pain and grief in a series of hard-hitting videos highlighting the devastating impact of dangerous driving.

Parents, children, brothers, sisters, partners and cousins have all opened their hearts to speak of the shock and on-going anguish of road death.

Their poignant stories are part of a joint campaign between Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) and RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims.

The short films feature relatives holding treasured photos of the ones they have lost as they talk about the trauma they have experienced while appealing for people to act responsibly behind the wheel.

Sonia Gandham, whose brother Arjun had his life taken at 19 years old, said: "Every day the door opens, you expect it to be the person that it's never going to be. It feels like I'm living a life that I shouldn't be living without my brother, and it feels almost unfair that everybody else is having a normal life and their day never changed, but my life did.

"I think the first thing that needs to be changed is the mindset of young drivers. It's the biggest problem that we've got in this country, and especially in our demographic. In Birmingham, on the roads, there's just a lack of fear and almost a sense of people think they're indestructible and there's no consequence for them."

Lesley Bates, whose husband Tony had his life taken in a car crash in 2017, said: "The trauma that you experience when you lose someone in a road death is indescribable, really, the sudden death of it, the tragedy of it, the trauma of it, and somebody you love, somebody you so deeply care for, is just gone in an instant.

“I'd only spoken to him a couple of hours before on the phone, and suddenly he was gone, he was never coming home.

"The support from RoadPeace has got me through to a point where I feel that there is a life to live again. There is a path to follow, a different path, not one that I'd planned."

This campaign highlights the Road Safety Action Plan launched earlier this month.

The plan, developed by a wide range of partners including West Midlands Police, TfWM -part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), local councils the Police and Crime Commissioner and RoadPeace, set out a series of actions to promote road safety including increasing enforcement of speed limits and a crackdown on uninsured and dangerous vehicles.

To mark Road Safety Week (November 18-24), Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, joined bereaved families at a memorial service for the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, hosted by RoadPeace West Midlands and West Mercia at St Martin in the Bull Ring, Birmingham.

The Mayor said: “Too many families have had their lives torn apart by dangerous driving. Yet these bereaved families have shown extraordinary courage by sharing their stories to help spare others the same heartbreak.

“Their voices are a powerful reminder that road safety must remain a top priority for our region.

“No loss of life on our roads is acceptable, which is why I am committed to Vision Zero - a future without road deaths or serious injuries. Together, we must prevent these devastating, avoidable tragedies and the pain they leave behind.”

Lucy Harrison, West Midlands Coordinator for RoadPeace, said: “Every name remembered at our recent memorial service represented a family forever changed by a preventable tragedy. 

“By sharing their stories, we hope to deliver change. We are grateful to the Mayor and TfWM for supporting our campaign and amplifying the message that we must continue striving for safer roads.”

“I am immensely proud of the members of the RoadPeace West Midlands Group and their courage in trying to spare other families the suffering they themselves have to endure.”