Road Safety

Terry Jermy Excerpts

Thursday 5th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Terry Jermy (South West Norfolk) (Lab)]

Prior to my role as a Member of Parliament, I was pleased to serve as a Norfolk county councillor for 12 years. In Norfolk, each time somebody is killed or seriously injured within a council division, the relevant councillor is informed. Clearly, nobody ever wanted to receive such an email, but all too often a message would arrive in my inbox. I recall vividly the email that informed me of the tragic death of 15-year-old Salvador Modke, on London Road in Thetford.

Salvador stepped out on to a crossing, just a short distance from his home, on a Saturday afternoon. He was hit by a car and tragically killed. The coroner’s report detailed evidence that had been received during the inquest, highlighting that the crossing contained minimal facilities for pedestrians and no signs on the approach to alert drivers. I pay tribute to Salvador’s family and friends who lobbied for safety improvements in the area following his death. I am pleased that Norfolk county council will be using money provided by the Government to undertake a full assessment of safety measures. I will do whatever I can to ensure that money is found to enact whatever recommendations are made.

As a member of the county council’s transport committee, I would routinely review performance indicators that tracked the number of people killed or seriously injured on the county’s roads. It was always a statistic of great concern, with a significantly high number of incidents. Sadly, the most recent Department for Transport data released in November indicates that road casualties have risen more in my county of Norfolk than anywhere else in the country, with the number of people killed or seriously injured rising from 470 in 2023 to 555 in 2024.

It is worth noting that across the country, 10 times as many people die on rural roads as on motorways. The view of road safety charity Brake is that rural roads are the most dangerous roads for all users. Many do not have cycles lane, pavements or bridleways. Many rural roads are narrow, with blind bends and limited safe places to pass. There is often much that obstructs the driver’s view and, all too often, there are animal collisions, particularly with deer. Deer are a constant risk around Thetford forest, in my constituency, which is the UK’s largest man-made forest.

Worryingly, in a Brake and Direct Line survey, 68% of drivers said that they felt it was acceptable to drive above the speed limit on a rural road, and nearly half of drivers said that they had driven faster than the speed limit on a single-carriageway rural road in the past year. Drivers are openly admitting to speeding on the most dangerous roads. I welcome the Government’s road safety strategy, and I ask that serious thought be given to the specific circumstances and opportunities to improve safety on our rural roads.

[Several hon. Members rose—]