Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin has praised ongoing improvements in regional road safety as the West Yorkshire Vision Zero Strategy marks two years since its launch.
The initiative, launched in Bradford in 2024, brings together local authorities, emergency services and community organisations with the target of eliminating all road deaths and serious injuries across West Yorkshire by 2040. Nationally, people killed or seriously injured on the roads rose by 4% last year; West Yorkshire recorded a 4% reduction.
Writing on social media, Brabin emphasised that while initial progress is encouraging, more work is needed:
“Progress but we are not complacent and more needs to be done. We are determined West Yorkshire will be a national leader in safer roads. Thank you @alison_4life for your leadership chairing the Vision Zero board.”
Targeted action and community engagement
Chaired by Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime Alison Lowe OBE, the Vision Zero Board coordinates targeted interventions across five pillars: safe speeds, safe roads, safe vehicles, safe behaviours, and post-collision response.
Figures released for the anniversary show 51 people were killed and 1,210 seriously injured on West Yorkshire’s roads in 2025. Lowe said that marked a reduction in serious collisions, but also a rise in deaths from the year before.
Key milestones delivered under the strategy over the past year include:
- School safety education: over 18,000 Year 7 students across 90 regional schools took part in theatre-in-education road safety sessions.
- Child seat inspections: more than 1,000 child car seats were checked for safety at community events across the county.
- Victim support: 83 people received specialised assistance through the Vision Zero-funded Independent Road Victim Advocate service run by Brake.
- Community enforcement: expanded Operation SNAP and West Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership work, enabling residents to submit dashcam footage and highlight local speeding concerns. Op Snap submissions rose by 10% over the last year.
Building a safe regional transport network
Local leaders across Bradford, Leeds, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield reaffirmed their commitment, emphasising that safer road infrastructure, lower speeds and education are essential to protecting all road users, pedestrians and cyclists.
Brabin confirmed that West Yorkshire will continue investing in infrastructure upgrades and safety partnerships to set a national standard for road safety.
