After a successful road safety push in the West Midlands, Birmingham City Council is planning to lower speed limits across the area.
Between January and June 2025, there were 18 percent fewer people killed or seriously injured on the region’s roads compared to the same time last year, dropping from 575 to 471. That’s a solid start to making roads safer.
West Midlands Police and local leaders have stepped up, cracking down on speeding and dangerous driving in Birmingham and nearby areas. They are also using more dashcam footage to catch reckless drivers, funding new cameras, and setting up more school zones where traffic is blocked to protect kids.
Mayor Richard Parker appointed Mat MacDonald as the UK’s first ever Regional Road Safety Commissioner to oversee all these efforts. Enforcement has ramped up big time. Speed checks tripled in June, catching thousands of offenders on mobile vans, motorway cameras, and average speed systems.
Parker said, “The latest data shows the action plan we put in place last year is beginning to get results. So far this year 100 fewer people have lost their lives or been seriously injured, that’s 100 families spared the heartbreak that comes with road traffic collisions.
“But every life lost is one too many and we still have much work to do. We will continue to invest, innovate, and work together to make our streets safer for everyone.”
West Midlands Chief Constable Craig Guildford added that this drop is going against national trends, showing how well the teamwork is working.
Birmingham’s Cllr Majid Mahmood also said, “It is really encouraging that there is a downward trend in the number of casualties, but I know that is no consolation to communities who have lost a loved one.
“Together we must do whatever it takes to make roads safer for everyone, which is what our Road Harm Reduction strategy sets out.
“We are making the speed limit on virtually all roads a maximum of 30mph – this will be implemented later this year.
“Working with our police partners, swift and decisive action will be taken against those who break the rules of the road. Driving is a privilege not a right.”
