The West Midlands Combined Authority Board is set to formally approve the new Regional Road Safety Action Plan 2024-2030 when it meets on Friday 15 November.

The aim of the plan is to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on the region’s roads by 50 per cent by 2030 and achieve ‘Vision Zero’ with no deaths or serious injuries by 2040.

Recruitment has begun for a new Road Safety Commissioner as a road safety emergency was declared earlier this year following a number of deaths and other serious incidents on Birmingham’s roads.

The action plan includes 23 actions to be carried out by the Regional Road Safety Partnership.

These include increasing enforcement for speeding offences, removing more unsafe and uninsured vehicles from the motorway and new policy guidelines on road design and speed limits to ensure greater consistency across the region.

A public consultation took place between February and May this year, which saw 2,752 completed surveys and 1,812 unique comments on Facebook used to help shape these actions.

The results showed that 91 percent of those surveyed agreed with the proposed actions to discourage unsafe driving and remove dangerous vehicles from the roads.

Other results showed that 82 per cent wanted the road environment improved for all road users, 77 per cent wanted more rehabilitation for offenders, 72 per cent wanted annual review of compliance with speed limits and 70 per cent wanted more enforcement.

The plan has been drawn up by West Midlands Police, Transport for West Midlands, part of the West Midlands Combined Authority, local councils and the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner as part of its commitment to improving safety.

West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker and West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster are also lobbying the Government to ensure that money raised from driving offense fines is kept in the area and invested in road safety.

Income from local fines, which currently exceed £2 million each year in the West Midlands, goes directly to the Treasury.

Mr Parker said: “Too many lives have been ruined by the dangerous driving of a few irresponsible drivers who treat our roads like a race track.

“This action plan sets out how we will make our roads safer for everyone and save lives.

“This includes getting more people involved in reviewing dashcam and CCTV footage so we can bring reckless drivers to justice.”