A Partnership Approach to Supporting People

We are proud to work alongside the Police Officers and Police Staff in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. Our unique working arrangement and service-level agreements mean that we are informed of every fatal collision and numerous other life-changing injury collisions that occur on the roads of the three counties. This allows us to offer our support to all people affected by the trauma of the collision.

Chief Superintendent David Boyle BA Mst (Cantab) is Head of Specialist Operations for the Joint Protective Services across the three Counties. Speaking about the unique partnership between Police and the RVT, David says:

“It remains our absolute privilege to continue to work with the Road Victims Trust. The impact of the death of a loved one in a road traffic collision is difficult to comprehend, and the role of the RVT in supporting people through some of the most difficult times of their lives is truly humbling. The care provided by RVT Counsellors assists people to recover from trauma, grief and loss and we are proud to work closely with such extraordinary people.”

David Boyle BA Mst (Cantab)

Working together with Police and Crime Commissioners

The Road Victims Trust work together with Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Police to provide emotional and practical care to all persons affected by fatal and life-changing collisions.

The three Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) are John Tizard (Bedfordshire), Darryl Preston (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough) and Jonathan Ash-Edwards (Hertfordshire). All three PCC’s have set Policing plans that pledge to put the victim at the heart of all they do and are committed to promoting road safety across their areas.

Speaking about the relationship between RVT and the Police, previous Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Festus Akinbusoye says:

“My plan for Bedfordshire puts people at the heart of policing and I am proud to support a local charity which supports local people with a workforce of locally based staff and volunteers. The RVT have worked together with the police for many years to deliver the very best levels of post-collision support to people who are at their most vulnerable. I wish to thank all of their hard working staff and volunteers for their extraordinary work. They have my admiration and full support.”

Festus Akinbusoye

Working with the Road Safety Partnerships

The Road Victims Trust are represented at the three Strategic Road Safety Partnerships across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. These partnerships all strive to reduce the amount of casualties on the roads of the three counties and we are able to bring our experience and expertise specifically to look at the Post Collision response.

The partnerships share the ethos:

‘No human being should be killed or seriously injured as the result of a road crash’.

The Safe System approach incorporates a shared responsibility for road safety by moving away from the traditional focus on making road users compliant.

It continues to be important that road users comply with the rules of the system, but also that the system is forgiving when people make mistakes. Information giving and enforcement are still important, but they need to be coordinated with safe vehicle and road design, speed choice, and post-collision response.

The Safe System requires a systematic, multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach to address the safety needs of all users. It requires a proactive strategy which places road safety in the centre of road traffic system planning, design, operation and use.