£60,000 grant to support victims and families of road accidents in Hertfordshire

Funding has been given to support the victims of serious road accidents and their families.

A grant of £60,000 has been made by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire to the Roads Victims Trust to support the needs of families and individuals who are bereaved or otherwise affected by a traumatic or fatal road collision in Hertfordshire.

This is the sixth year the charity, which works across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire, has been granted an award.

During this time they have helped hundreds of people offering a bespoke counselling service and support through court cases and coroner hearings.

Police and Crime Commissioner David Lloyd said: “This charity offers a vital level of support for people at their lowest - when they have been seriously injured or lost a loved one through a traffic accident.

“All fatal collisions in the county are automatically referred by the police to the Trust so help can be given to all those involved.”

The money was awarded from the Commissioner’s Road Safety Fund which is comprised largely from fines imposed on speeding motorists and is strictly ring-fenced so it can only be spent on road safety projects and road victims in the county.

Mr Lloyd added: “This is another example of my ‘offender pays’ strategy in action. People can see exactly how the money raised from those who flout the law is being reinvested into local road safety activity and to help victims.”

Those eligible for support from the Road Victim Trust include drivers, passengers, witness’s family members and those who administer first aid to road casualties.

The Road Safety Fund invites groups and organisations to apply for funding to help develop and design local solutions where a need has been identified, supporting projects that will assist in the delivery of Hertfordshire’s Strategic Road Safety Partnership’s vision.

The aim of the Road Safety Fund is to find new and innovative ways of improving road safety, supporting a holistic mix of education and enforcement to achieve sustainable behaviour change solutions and interventions which focus on reducing road casualties and antisocial road use.

Since 2016 the Commissioner has awarded over £1.5m of Road Safety Funding to some 80 projects, more details are available here.