A VISUAL road safety campaign has been launched in the Cotswolds to help reduce the number of road casualties.

Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership aims to improve road safety especially on the A429 and continue the downward trend in the number of casualties in the district.

Around 18 people are injured on the roads each month.

Cllr Vernon Smith, cabinet member for Highways and Flooding at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “With between 6,000 and 15,000 vehicles using this route through the Cotswolds every single day our messages will be seen by many road users.

“I hope that they will positively respond to our reminders and help to improve road safety on this route and all of the routes that they use.”

The campaign is being introduced to motorists by using a large text sign on the A429 as they enter Gloucestershire from Wiltshire and at sites along the route north to Warwickshire - this is done to make all road users aware of the risks and the consequences of a collision.

The campaign aims to encourage drivers to drive at the safest speed for the prevailing conditions, to keep their distance from the vehicle in front, make sure they never use a mobile phone while driving and to always wear their seatbelt, to help make the county’s roads much safer for all those who use them.

Along the 34 mile stretch of the A429 messages have been sited to remind drivers of the key road safety themes of this campaign.

The four themes of the A429 Route Aware Campaign are: Don’t Get dead Close; Kill Your Speed; No Mobile, when mobile, and Seat belt on.

Maria Boon, head of the Road Safety Partnership, said: “Some motorists say that a particular road is dangerous and my reaction is almost always to point out that roads in themselves are not dangerous, but it is the way in which some people use them that increases the risk of a collision. It is every motorist’s responsibility to use the roads with care and consideration.

"Mobility and freedom to drive or ride whenever we wish are important elements of the quality of life that we enjoy, but safety must never be compromised. We all have a clear responsibility to use our roads with care and within the rules contained in the Highway Code, as collisions happen when these rules are bent or broken.

"The message on the large text sign is absolutely clear and will inform drivers that ‘one person is injured on the A429 each week’ and will then say ‘don’t be this week’s casualty’.

"The positive road safety messages will then follow along the route, helping everyone to ‘Drive fine on the A429’."