The tragic deaths behind a plan for real change

Frankie Jules-Hough, 38, was several months pregnant when she was hit by a speeding car on the M66. The Oldham mum and baby Neeve died, leaving behind her devastated partner Calvin and a nine-year-old son, who was also badly hurt in the crash.

It’s harrowing stories like these that have prompted Greater Manchester Combined Authority bosses to take drastic action.

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They have approved an action plan aimed at bringing road traffic deaths in the region down to zero by 2040 after listening to filmed testimonies of Calvin and Frankie’s dad.

Calvin recalled how he'd celebrated his 'proudest moment' just a week before the tragedy, when he'd found out he would be the father of a baby girl and the heartbreaking moment he received a call from emergency services after the crash. The driver, Adil Iqbal, then 22, of Hope Street in Accrington, Lancashire, who filmed himself speeding down the motorway at 123mph, was sentenced to 15 years in jail.

Town hall bosses want to intervene before cases like Frankie's reach the courts. The approved ‘Vision Zero’ plan aims to halve the number of fatal and life-changing accidents by 2030, and completely stop them 10years later.

It comes after 45 people lost their lives and 754 were seriously injured on Greater Manchester’s roads last year. The figure was described by Trafford boss Tom Ross as ‘stark’.

He added: “Another stark statistic is that 64 people lost their lives on Greater Manchester roads in 2022. There’s a question there: Is this acceptable? The answer is obviously no.”

He recalled the story of Marcus Simmons-Allen, an 18-year-old from Altrincham killed while on a walk with a friend by an uninsured car doing double the speed limit in Broadheath. The driver, Connor Matthews, then 23, of Portland Road, Stretford, was later jailed for six years and eight months.

“I don’t think any of us could begin to imagine the impact that this has on family and friends, when this happens so suddenly, so quickly,” Ross added.

The Vision Zero plans, first launched by Active Transport Commissioner Dame Sarah Storey last year, suggests a wide range of measures to prevent accidents. These include policing collision hotspots, creating more 20 mph zones and ‘school streets’, tackling illegal and inconsiderate parking and prioritising quicker response times for traffic incidents by emergency services.

As well as making road users safer, it would also reduce the strain on emergency services caused by road traffic accidents, according to the report. Fire services currently spend more time responding to crashes than fire incidents in Greater Manchester.

A report on the plans noted that it’s ‘not a funded delivery plan’ and the members of the GMCA will need to find the money to put the measures in place. But council bosses will be able to apply for part of a £1m innovation fund launched by Vision Zero to cover schemes that fall under the remit of improving road user safety.

Deputy mayor Kate Green said: “People have said to me, it’s not possible to achieve zero deaths or serious injuries on our roads. Other cities are doing it. Greater Manchester can do it. And when you look at the story of Frankie and Calvin, we know why we must do it."