TyreSafe has announced a new partnership with the Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership (GRSP), bringing together two organisations committed to reducing road casualties and helping make the county’s roads safer.
The partnership will see TyreSafe and the Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership work together to raise awareness of tyre safety among road users across Gloucestershire, sharing expertise, resources and opportunities to support wider road safety campaigns and initiatives.
The collaboration comes at an important time for road safety in the county. Around 1,000 personal injury road traffic collisions are recorded on Gloucestershire’s roads each year, with the Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership aiming to halve the number of people killed and seriously injured on the county’s roads between 2022 and 2032.
The partnership’s recent Road Safety Needs Assessment has identified speeding, distraction and impaired driving as key preventable factors in serious collisions, while highlighting the importance of targeted action on high-risk routes and among vulnerable road users.
Gloucestershire’s road network includes a significant number of rural and semi-rural routes, as well as busy residential roads and urban areas. The county is already taking targeted action at collision hotspots, including the introduction of average speed cameras and lower speed limits on higher-risk routes.
Tyre safety forms an important part of this wider approach. Tyres are the only part of a vehicle in direct contact with the road and play a critical role in braking, steering and maintaining control. Ensuring tyres are correctly inflated, have sufficient tread and are free from damage can help road users maintain control and reduce avoidable risks.
Stuart Lovatt, Chair of TyreSafe, said, “Gloucestershire has a clear ambition to significantly reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on its roads, and the work of the Road Safety Partnership demonstrates the importance of bringing organisations together to achieve that.
“We’re delighted to be partnering with the Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership and to bring tyre safety into that wider road safety conversation. Tyres are fundamental to vehicle safety, but they can sometimes be overlooked when road users are thinking about the factors that contribute to collisions.
“Making sure tyres are legal, correctly inflated and in good condition is one of the simple things every driver can do to reduce risk. By working alongside established road safety partnerships, we can help make that advice more visible and give drivers practical information they can act on.
“This partnership is another important step in TyreSafe’s work with road safety organisations across the UK. By sharing expertise, audiences and resources, we can reach more people and make a greater contribution to preventing avoidable deaths and serious injuries.”
Nick Evans, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner and Chair of the Road Safety Partnership for Gloucestershire, said, “Road safety is a shared responsibility, and our ambition to halve the number of people killed and seriously injured on Gloucestershire’s roads requires strong collaboration across our partner organisations.
“Our recent Road Safety Needs Assessment has given us a clearer understanding of where the risks are and the behaviours that contribute to serious collisions. While speed, distraction and impairment remain important areas of focus, vehicle condition is also an essential part of keeping people safe.
“We are pleased to welcome TyreSafe as a partner and look forward to working together to raise awareness of tyre safety and provide practical information that road users can use. By combining our local knowledge and reach with TyreSafe’s specialist expertise, we have an opportunity to engage more people and support our shared ambition for safer roads across Gloucestershire.”
The partnership will create opportunities for TyreSafe and the Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership to collaborate on campaigns, communications, community engagement and educational activity, helping ensure drivers across the county have access to clear and practical information about tyre safety.
It will also complement the partnership’s existing programme of education, awareness and enforcement activity, which includes work with communities, schools, young drivers and other road users identified as being at greater risk.
TyreSafe is continuing to expand its network of partnerships with road safety organisations across the UK, recognising that reducing road deaths and serious injuries requires collaboration across education, enforcement, engineering and safer vehicle use.
