Crash fears in city despite road emergency action

1 August 2025

Josh Sandiford & Saskia MasaunBBC News, West Midlands, Harborne

News image — Dee Lyons, from Harborne, believes more needs to be done in Birmingham to tackle speeding drivers

BBC Dee Lyons in a smiling photo. There is a road behind her with a car driving past. She is wearing a light blue fleece and sunglasses. She has blonde hair. — Dee Lyons, from Harborne, believes more needs to be done in Birmingham to tackle speeding drivers

Dee Lyons was heading home from the gym when we stopped her in Birmingham to ask about road safety.

The 64-year-old told us it was not long ago that she was knocked off her bike by what she described as a speeding driver.

The location was close to where we were chatting, on Lordswood Road in Harborne and that stretch has seen several serious crashes in recent years, including one just over a week ago.

We spoke to residents as safety campaigners prepared to mark one year of Birmingham's road safety emergency, declared by the city council. As we did, there were at least two close shaves, both accompanied by the blaring of car horns.

Ms Lyons explained it was not unusual to see motorists getting angry and said she believed the road was "very dangerous" due to the way people drove.

"Cars come so fast down here," she said. "There are no speed bumps.

"Nobody ever sticks to [the speed limit]. People go 20 [miles per hour] and somebody will just overtake them."

Husband and wife Amar and Sonal Mundada. They are standing at the junction of a busy road. They are both smiling and wearing sunglasses. Amar has an arty T-shit on. Sonal is wearing a green blouse. — Husband and wife Amar and Sonal Mundada said some drivers needed to be more considerate

Husband and wife Amar and Sonal Mundada, both 41, agreed people were often not patient enough when driving on the city's roads.

"When there is a red light I see cars driving rashly," said Mr Mundada.

His spouse added: "There are already limits in place but speed cameras will help."

Mara Assad in a picture on the busy Harborne high street. There is a bus and a car and signs behind her. She has her hands in front of her. She has grey hair and is wearing a red backpack, a white top and green trousers. — Mara Assad, originally from Iran, thought the standard of driving in the UK had gone downhill

Mara Assad came to the UK from Iran almost five decades ago.

She believed the standard of driving in the city had gone downhill and blamed those getting behind the wheel.

"Maybe we need more traffic lights and zebra crossings," the 70-year-old said.

"But it's not the council, it's people. They have to think. I don't blame the government or the council. It's the people."

Getty Images A general view of a road in Birmingham on a dark night. A blurry figure walks across a zebra crossing. There is a building in the background and we can see a car driving along with its lights on. — Campaigners have cautiously welcomed figures showing serious and fatal crashes are down in Birmingham

A road safety emergency was declared by Birmingham City Council in July 2024 after a high number of serious and fatal crashes on the city's road network.

More recently, the authority has adopted a road harm reduction strategy, which will see £10m put towards delivering an action plan on the issue.

On Friday, campaigners will gather in Victoria Square to mark one year of the emergency and take part in a monthly protest ride around the city.

Campaign group Better Streets for Birmingham said it "cautiously welcomed" recent statistics showing a reduction in deaths and serious injuries in the first half of 2025.

But the group's chair Martin Price warned: "Declaring the road safety emergency was the easy part.

"We now need to see policy and action plans turn into realities."

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