A NEW road safety plan for the Cumberland area has been agreed by councillors this week.

Members of Cumberland Council's highways and transport strategic board met at Allerdale House in Workington to agree the move.

It was recommended that members of the board approved the contents of the report and gave approval for the Cumberland Council Road Safety Plan for 2024 to 2027.

According to the report the plan will be used in collaboration with the Cumberland Council Road Safety Policy which members also approved on Thursday.

The Cumberland Road Safety plan aims to undertake a range of activities in an attempt to influence road user behaviour within the Cumberland area including:

  • delivery of Bikeability Cycle Training to primary schools;
  • provide subsidies for those that want to partake and in support of those organisations that provide post-test Motorcycle skills training;
  • deliver road safety sessions in secondary schools and colleges by the police and the fire and rescue service;
  • provide subsidies for those older drivers that would like to undertake training to refresh their skills and knowledge through the Institute of Advanced Motorists or Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA);
  • adhere to and contribute to a shared programme of road safety campaigns recorded in a shared Cumbria Road Safety Partnership (CRSP) calendar;
  • maintain a safety camera unit linked to National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS) speed awareness courses;
  • provide a facility to report dashcam footage (Operation Snap) of poor road user behaviour that has been recorded by the public;
  • deliver Pyjama Drama sessions in primary schools where possible;
  • provide subsidies for those young novice drivers that wish to undertake Pass Plus training;
  • review the existing CRSP Vehicle Activated Signs Policy and Speeding Protocol;
  • obtain the assistance of other council specialists as appropriate e.g. Parking Services, Active Travel and Communications;
  • align Police Traffic Officer/Camera Unit deployment in the optimum way in order to reduce collisions including to coincide with the campaigns calendar.