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23
Jan 2023
Knaresborough councillor says male-dominated executive not tackling road safety concerns
North Yorkshire County Council’s leadership has defended itself amid claims that its largely older male membership has not experienced the impacts of motorists speeding through market towns and villages.
Knaresborough councillor Hannah Gostlow and Selby member Melanie Ann Davis told a meeting of the authority’s transport scrutiny committee action to tackle road safety in built-up areas was being limited due to the executive having different experiences to those of women, people with pushchairs and young people.
The council’s 10-member executive features two women and the majority of its members are aged above 50.
The meeting examining road safety and the introduction of 20mph zones in built-up areas also heard claims North Yorkshire Police were routinely failing to tackle motorcyclists as well as refusing to enforce 20mph zones.
The meeting heard while road incidents in the county had seen 36 people killed in 2020 and 37 the year before, motorcyclists had accounted for seven of the deaths in 2020 and 11 in 2019, which represented a far higher proportion than the volume of motorbikes on North Yorkshire’s roads.
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Councillors heard the council had been examining the decision to make Wales one of the first countries in the world to introduce legislation to have a 20mph speed limit on roads where cars mix with pedestrians and cyclists.
Cllr Gostlow told the committee the majority of people supporting the Welsh move had been women and those with young families and that North Yorkshire’s executive lacked the experience of walking on narrow paths beside busy roads.
She said the executive needed to listen to grass roots views rather than “deal down from the top”, adding:
Cllr Davis agreed, saying the “car was king because it represents economic power” and that the views of women and young people were being overlooked.
After the meeting, the authority’s leader, Cllr Carl Les said he did his best to balance the executive in terms of gender, between retired people and those in work and in terms of geographical coverage.
He said:
Mobile cameras 'effective'
A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said its mobile safety cameras were effective when used on any vehicle, including motorbikes.
The force said it had publicised a significant amount of prosecutions involving motorcyclists, including riders who have been recorded exceeding 120mph and riders who have been prosecuted for various dangerous driving offences.
The spokesperson added:
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