The Safer Essex Roads Partnership Newsletter

Cllr Lee Scott, Chair of the Safer Essex Roads Partnership Governance Board

Dear Essex residents,

Firstly, a huge thank you to everyone that has subscribed to the Safer Essex Road Partnership’s (SERP) newsletter.

Our newsletter aims to deliver updates, advice, and information on road safety topics throughout Essex, along with promoting the range of activities, interventions and programmes that the SERP delivers on.

This newsletter also coincides with Brake’s Road Safety Week, which this year puts road crash victims at the heart of the campaign. As part of Road Safety Week, the SERP has a busy programme of activities, including education in schools, engaging with the community, and enforcement activities to address poor driving behaviour.

We also hear from Mandy Garner, who sadly lost her daughter, Anisha, in a collision. Mandy’s story is a tragedy that nobody wants to see repeated; this underlines the importance of everyone playing their part in achieving Vision Zero, our shared objective toward zero road death and serious injuries by 2040.

The SERP cannot achieve this alone, we need everyone to play their part. We all use the roads and we need your support to make the changes that will make them safe for everyone.

A tribute to Anisha Vidal-Garner

My wonderful daughter, Anisha, was in her first year at university.

On a clear Wednesday night in February 2020, she was out with her boyfriend and friend. They had just got off the bus on Brixton Hill and were going to get some money from the cashpoint. Anisha was the first to cross the road, with her boyfriend and friend seconds behind. Out of nowhere, a black Mercedes came speeding down the hill. At over 60mph, the driver cut through two red lights and veered across both sides of the road. Anisha froze, not knowing which way to move, before taking a large jump backwards. The driver swerved into her and didn’t stop.

Anisha died immediately.

My daughter was 20, with her whole life in front of her.

As a family, we were contacted by the police at 2am the following morning.

My second daughter was awake and came to the bathroom window to look out when the police knocked on the door, whilst I thought they’d got the wrong house. Within hours, we were waiting for our other two children to wake up to break to them the worst news in the world. My son, who was nine, kept telling me that he had seen videos showing how you could bring people back to life, whilst my third daughter, who was 14, just screamed: “No, no, no.”

When people lose a loved one in traumatic circumstances, they often say they wish the world would stop, and in our case, it absolutely did.

The following months, my children had to be home-schooled, in the midst of extreme grief, but the impact of losing Anisha will last us lifetime.

How could it not?

Our “effortlessly adorable” Anisha was the leader of our team, and her passion for music, films, and creative ideas were shared amongst us over the years. She was studying Philosophy and Spanish at King’s College London and, since a teenager, had always had a bulky philosophy book in her coat pocket. She was shy, witty, smart, beautiful inside and out and hugely empathetic to all.

Mandy Garner, mother to Anisha and road safety campaigner.

The importance of a good road safety education

Education in road safety is important for us all, from early years, up to adulthood.

We never stop learning, and the world around us never stops changing. Our Education Team works across many ages, but with more than 30 children a week killed or seriously injured on the roads in the UK, our schools programme is important for growing up safely. 

Through our interactive sessions, we look to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes of children from five years old, all the way through to sixth form. We focus on the most important information for the age groups that relate to them, starting with the Green Cross Code for early years, to independent travelling and safe places to cross for nine-year-olds, all the way up to learner drivers. 

These education sessions are developed to increase children and parents' understanding of the risk around roads and to learn by doing. Year 5 children all visit the roadside with the team and practise their classroom-based learning, assessing the risk and choosing when, where and how to cross safely.

When students start to travel to school independently, there are a whole host of issues they face. This age group is at particular risk because the part of the brain responsible for assessing risk and hazards is not fully developed until around the age of 25. The addition of peer pressure and a desire to fit in, makes teenagers and young adults particularly prone to rash decisions, with fatal consequences. This is why embedding key road safety behaviours from an early age is so vital.

As adults, it is important we set a good example by avoiding risky behaviours and distractions when we are using the road. 

Ellie Henderson, Safer Essex Roads Partnership, Road Safety and Education Manager

For more information, visit: Parents and children - saferessexroads.org

Forget-Me-Not seeds sow a powerful message via thousands of school children across Essex this Road Safety Week.

Road Safety Education and Engagement Manager, Ellie Henderson, said: “At the Safer Essex Roads Partnership, we want every week to be Road Safety Week, and we are working with even more people to raise awareness of the importance of being safe on the roads."

“This year the theme is ‘After the Crash – Every Victim Counts’ which is an area we find difficult to talk about with children. The tragic consequences of road traffic collisions is something that touches everyone. At the Safer Essex Roads Partnership, we don’t talk about car ‘accidents’- we refer to them as collisions or crashes. The word ‘accident’ undermines the stark reality that the causes of crashes are both predictable and preventable. No-one should lose their life on the roads."

“Sadly, last year 44 people lost their lives on Essex roads, and their families were forever affected."  

“We have sent packets of Forget-Me-Not seeds out to schools as a symbol of remembrance for those who have lost their lives on the roads.”

Claire Laver, Headteacher of Priory Primary School in Bicknacre, received a visit from the Education Team, along with the seeds.

She said: “Our year 5 class thoroughly enjoyed working with SERP to promote safer driving in our village. Using the speed gun was an absolute treat and the children now confidently understand speed limits. Thanks to SERP for taking the time to visit us."

“Priory Primary School is always keen to support Brake Road Safety Week. We will be reflecting on this year’s theme and be planting some seeds in the school garden.”

The SERP produced the seed packets for families to both plant and enjoy when the beautiful flowers blossom, but also to use these floral symbols as a reminder to spend time discussing the importance of road safety education. 

We aim to achieve Vision Zero, zero road deaths and serious injuries in Essex by 2040, and urge all schools and organisations to sign the Vision Zero Pledge, taking a stand against road death in our county.

For more information on educational materials, visit: Parents and children - saferessexroads.org

More than a 9-5- the vital role of a Family Liaison Officer

 “If I pass a particular location or see it’s an anniversary, then the memories come back. I was fortunate to meet some very special people at unfortunately their lowest time in their lives. I hope I supported them and made their difficult journey just a bit easier.”

 Road Safety Officer, Tanya Gorbutt, recalls her past role as a Family Liaison Officer (FLO) for Essex Police during Brake Road Safety Week.

This year’s Road Safety Week is victim focussed, with an emphasis on celebrating the work of the incredible people who support families after a road death or serious injury.

Tanya worked as a police FLO for thirty years, before retiring from the force in 2021. Here, she supported hundreds of families who’d been affected by road traffic collisions. When asked what the role entailed, Tanya said:

“As a FLO, your duties are anything and everything. The first rule was never to make any promises to a family. Always remain professional and compassionate. To keep focused on the law and procedures, but also to empower them at the lowest point in their lives, to help them feel involved and to start regaining some control during a stressful and emotional time, which was very rewarding.”

During her policing career, Tanya witnessed first-hand the devastation caused by collisions, to individuals, families, and often whole communities. She found the deaths involving children particularly painful - to see a life taken too early.

When asked to describe the range of emotions experienced by someone affected by a collision, she said: “The seven stages of grief would often be visible, especially if you are deployed to a family and you remain with them for a considerable amount of time. This could be one to two years from collision to a court hearing, and beyond, if there is a civil hearing as well.”

She added: “No two fatalities are the same, no two families are the same. They were all unique. There were so many special families over the years."

Having seen and felt the trauma of so many people, Vision Zero is a cause close to Tanya’s heart. 

“No one deserves to die on our roads. We believe road death and serious injury is completely preventable and I urge all Essex communities to think about how they can travel safely. Vision Zero is more than just an aspiration, it is a societal movement which we must all get behind. Let’s stop talking about road traffic collisions as unfortunate events. They can be prevented.”

Tanya now works as a Road Safety Technician for SERP, where she supports the delivery of road safety education and engagement within schools.

 Sign our Vision Zero pledge today. Join our road safety movement, and take a stand against unnecessary road death: www.saferessexroads.org/visionzero