WITH over 300 people killed or seriously injured on the roads of mid and west Wales, road safety needs to be a top priority for Dyfed Powys Police, according to a candidate aiming to be the area’s next crime commissioner.

Powys alone has the worst record for deaths and serious injuries for any council area in Wales, with 138 deaths and serious injuries in 2014 and per head of population, Powys, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire are all in the worst six in Wales.

Richard Church, the Welsh Liberal Democrat Police and Crime Commissioner Candidate for Dyfed Powys, said: “It’s time for a police commissioner who will take the lead and co-ordinate an action plan with the police, local authorities and the Welsh Government to tackle the appalling tragedy by lives lost and ruined by accidents on roads across mid and west Wales.

“We are miles behind other parts of the UK in using imaginative ideas and modern technology to remind drivers of their speed on dangerous sections of our roads and to catch the really dangerous drivers who put people’s lives at risk.

“I want to see more warning signs about danger spots, the promotion of dashboard cameras to catch offenders, and more involvement of local people through community speedwatch schemes to make roads in our towns and villages safer.”

Dyfed-Powys Police, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, and the Welsh Ambulance Service have announced they will be running four schemes aimed at meeting the Welsh Government’s Road Safety Strategy 2020 objective to reduce the number of 16 to 24-year-olds killed or seriously injured on Welsh roads.

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