Worthing has higher pedestrian and cyclist road casualty numbers than any other major town in West Sussex!

Hit at 30 mph a child is seven times more likely to be killed than at 20 mph

A Message from 20’s Plenty for Worthing campaign:

You may have heard a report this week on Splash FM which stated that 111 people have been killed or seriously injured walking or cycling in Worthing since 2006. That is almost double the figure for Crawley (62) and more than double that for Littlehampton (47).

You can hear an interview with Peter Roger, the Chief Examiner at the Institute of Advanced Motorists regarding this story here:

http://www.splashfm.com/splashstory.asp?id=4112

He says:

1. Drivers not paying attention is a major cause of accidents

2. You would expect there to be more collisions with pedestrians and cyclists on 30mph roads because that’s where there tends to be the most pedestrians and cyclists.

3. 20mph will reduce both the number of collisions and the severity of injuries

So you might think that he and his organisation would support 20’s Plenty. Instead they argue for “selective 20mph limits” such as outside schools.

What he’s missing is the fact that 80% of children who are killed or injured on our roads were not even going to or from school and of those that were, only a few were outside their school. How are short, intermittent 20mph limits outside schools going to reduce child deaths and injuries during the school holidays for instance? For more information about this see here.

Instead what we need is community-wide safety for our children, older people, pedestrians and cyclists.

How you can help the 20’s Plenty Campaign:

1. Deliver leaflets door to door – so far a small team of dedicated supporters have done a FANTASTIC job and covered 124 roads (listed here), but we still have over 480 roads to do. If you can help, contact me and I can give you as many as you can deliver!

2. Offer to help on the 20’s Plenty stall – On Sunday 28th August, between 11am-1pm the new 20’s Plenty stall will appear at “Big Bike Sunday” – when the sea-front road (between Wallace Avenue and Grand Avenue) will be closed to all traffic except bicycles! There will be bike displays and the chance to try riding a recumbent and a Christiania tricycle! Also competitions and hot dogs! I need people to help collect signatures.

3. Show your support – Tell Worthing Borough Council:

The “Your chance to be chancellor” leaflets are currently being distributed by the council. Originally I was told these would ask people if they want 20’s Plenty, but the question is not on the leaflet. However you can suggest that the council implements 20mph limits on residential roads as it would save taxpayers money reducing police, ambulance, fire and rescue, NHS, and road maintenance costs due to dealing with collisions.

You can also write a positive letter to the Worthing Herald (letters@worthingherald.co.uk), The Argus (letters@theargus.co.uk), or email Splash FM (or phone on 01903 210772). Don’t let the small but vocal minority of objectors get all the press, make sure your support is heard!

4. Tell all your friends and neighbours – word of mouth is one of best ways of influencing. Tell them about the campaign and explain that we need to demonstrate majority public support. 20mph limits would be better for everyone: children, older people, pedestrians, cyclists and motorists! There’s a frequently asked questions page on the website to help answer any difficult questions.Get them to sign the petition.

5. Get a FREE sticker – show your support on your wheelie bin, bicycle, car or anywhere else you fancy. Choose from 4 types of sticker and email me your request. If you put it on your car, remember to start driving at 20mph on residential roads – you don’t have to wait for the speed limit to change and you can find out for yourself how little difference it makes to journey times and how much less stressful it is.

Finally BBC Sussex have asked if anyone has been personally affected by a road collision in Worthing and would be willing to share their story and show support for the 20’s Plenty campaign?

If so please could you get in touch with me?

Duncan Kay

20’s Plenty for Worthing

www.20splentyforworthing.org.uk

Worthing Liberal Democrat Councillors

Worthing has higher pedestrian and cyclist road casualty numbers than any other major town in West Sussex!

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