PUBLIC sector employers in the South West are being told that more must be done to reduce road casualties in the region.

Speaking at the Highways England — Driving for Better Business South West regional summit, held last week at police headquarters in Exeter, police and crime commissioner (PCC) Alison Hernandez said the region’s employers had a major role to play in keeping the road safe.

Around 70 representatives of public bodies attended the event which was hosted by PCC Hernandez — who is national PCC lead for road safety — with the aim of promoting work-related road safety.

‘Road safety is the number one issue that the public contact me about,’ said Ms Hernandez. ‘Last year, tragically, over 2,000 people were killed or seriously injured on the roads across the South West — including 853 in Devon and Cornwall. We must all do more to cut this dreadful statistic.’

The South West has hundreds of thousands of public sector workers working in many sectors including the emergency services, local authorities, military and NHS among others.

‘Public organisations have a legal duty and moral responsibility to ensure the safety of their employees and the public when using the roads for work purposes — this includes staff travelling to and from work,’ she added. ‘It also makes financial sense as safer working practices prevent costly claims and fines.’

The delegates heard of the Driving for Better Business programme from Highways England, which provides a free resource available to anyone to self-assess their organisation’s compliance with regulations, case studies and highlights best practice.