OUR VISION AND MISSION
To reduce infant pedestrian road deaths in the United kingdom to zero
We will:
Promote the advancement of road safety through supporting and campaigning for VisionZero
Support emergency response teams including the Air Ambulance Service, the Ambulance service and 1st responder teams
Raise funds through various charitable activities
Invest in research surrounding road safety and associated rehabilitative treatment of Severe Brain Injury (SBI)
Campaign for related road safety charities
The Louis Thorold Foundation is setup in loving memory of Louis Thorold who died on 22nd January 2021 at just 5 months old whilst his mother Rachael pushed his pram along a pavement in Cambridge.
The road where he died is notorious for deaths and dangerous accidents and those charged with maintaining the road and making it safe have done little to protect the lives of the children we love and cherish.
Each year in Britain 40 children are killed as pedestrians on Britain's roads a number which we believe is too many, sadly Louis is another tragic statistic.
CAMPAIGNS
PEDESTRIAN SAFETY ON THE A10
PROTECT CHILDREN ON OUR PAVEMENTS
Protect pedestrians walking on the A10 by
Reducing the speed limit from 50 mph to 30mph between Ely Road and Denny End Road or wherever pedestrians have no protection from cars
Erecting safety barriers along the side of the pavement where pedestrians walk where there is high speed traffic
Installing long term solutions to segregate cars from pedestrians
VISION ZERO AND LOVE 20
MAKE ROADS 'SAFE SYSTEMS' FOR ALL USERS
All roads can be made safe through design. One death on the road is too many and we must stop accepting deaths on our roads. Louis' life would have been saved by appropriate road design segregating pedestrians from traffic or reducing speed limits to a safe level. Let's stop blaming drivers and start ensuring our councils and road designers are creating safe places.
It’s simple, Traffic Deaths are Preventable but only if we change the way we think about the road system.
Vision Zero is the long-term goal of zero traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries
Its five principles are:
Traffic deaths and severe injuries are acknowledged to be preventable.
Human life and health are prioritised within all aspects of transportation systems.
Acknowledgement that human error is inevitable, and transportation systems should be forgiving.
Safety work should focus on systems-level changes above influencing individual behaviour.
Speed is recognised and prioritised as the fundamental factor in crash severity.
ROAD PEDESTRIAN DEATHS
Road traffic accidents may be an everyday occurrence but they are both predictable and preventable, as illustrated by the large body of evidence on key risk factors and effective road safety measures that work such as those advocated by Vision Zero
In the United Kingdom each year there are over 1700 road deaths and 160,000 casualties (DfT 19). Around 470 pedestrians were killed on pavements and the number of pedestrians aged 15 and under who were killed was around 40
“Pedestrian infant deaths are nearly always preventable”
Speed limits need to be reduced to give pedestrians especially children a real chance of survival.
Pedestrian survivability
At 20 mph 95% of pedestrians survive
At 30 mph 55% survive
At 40 mph 5% survive
At 50mph and above all die.
The economic cost of preventable road traffic accidents in the UK is immense at £36 - £38bn but the misery which it inflicts on the injured and bereaved families is immeasurable.
STREETS FOR LIFE: FOR PEOPLE AND PLANET
On our streets, worldwide, where we walk, play and live, we call for action on speed. Low speed, liveable streets are essential and urgent.
Urgent because low speeds save lives.
Urgent for public health, by making walking and cycling safer and more accessible, enabling and encouraging healthy lifestyles. Liveable streets are more crucial than ever as we respond to COVID-19.
Urgent for the Global Goals and for our climate, as a key that unlocks a virtuous cycle of zero carbon active travel, shifting from car dependence, enabling thriving public transportation, cleaner air and lower CO2 emissions.
Urgent for social and racial equity, as it is lower income and minority communities who are most exposed to high-speed traffic, and the road danger, environmental hazard and social exclusion it causes. Urgent for the rights of people with disabilities; for the elderly; for all who are vulnerable.
Urgent for our children and youth, and vital for their wellbeing. They are most at risk on the streets where they live, play and travel to school. Every day 3000 children and young people are killed or seriously injured on the world’s roads. A child hit by a car at 20 mph (30 km/h) can survive. Hit at 50 mph (80 km/h), most will die. Speed kills.
The 2020 Stockholm Declaration, adopted by governments worldwide, calls for a focus on liveable streets and, in line with available evidence, a maximum road travel speed of 30 km/h where vulnerable road users and vehicles mix. Commitment to this approach must be at the forefront of the new Decade of Action for Road Safety to achieve the Global Goals.
Now is the time to urgently deliver on this call to action by reducing, designing and enforcing traffic speeds that are safe for everyone, everywhere, prioritising low speed streets in all residential areas and near schools.
Streets for health. Streets for climate. Streets for people. We must act together to create #StreetsForLife.
LOUIS' LAW
Age Affects All Drivers Ability
RETEST ALL DRIVERS AT 70
Ensure Drivers are safe to drive by instigating a:
Retest at 70 and then every 3 years
Annual eye test from 70
Annual hearing test
Annual Perception test
Annual reaction time test
The driver who caused Louis’s death was an elderly woman in her 70s who shouldn't have been driving.
SPEED LIMITS
Speed limits need to be reduced to give pedestrians especially children a real chance of survival.
Pedestrian survivability
At 20 mph 95% of pedestrians survive
At 30 mph 55% survive
At 40 mph 5% survive
At 50mph and above all die.
Louis would have stood a good chance of surviving if the speed limit had been 30mph.
Many countries around the world mandate that drivers must sit a driving retest as they get older however in the UK under current law, licences must be renewed at the age of 70 and every three years after that. The onus is on the driver to self-certify as being fit to drive. No retest is conducted.
THIS IS RIDICULOUS
As we get older factors such as decreased vision, impaired hearing, slower motor reflexes, worsening health conditions, reduction of strength, coordination, and flexibility can impact a persons ability to safely control a car.
For example:
Neck pain or stiffness can make it harder to look over your shoulder.
Leg pain can make it difficult to move your foot from the accelerator to the brake pedal.
Diminished arm strength can make it hard to turn the steering wheel quickly and effectively.
Your reaction times slow down with age.
You can lose the ability to effectively divide your attention between multiple activities.
A UK National poll in 2017 found most people want drivers to be examined on reaching 72, then retake the test every five years and face losing their licence if they fail.
We want to go further and make it mandatory that every driver is retested at the age of 70 and then every 3 years there after. In addition all over 70’s must have an eye and hearing test every year conducted by an approved medical practitioner.