DRIVERS must be more thoughtful and respectful of other road users, the organisers of a road safety convention held in memory of a woman who died in a car crash two years ago said on Friday.
Julian and Gill Smith were speaking at the second edition of the Road Safety Conference in Wales, which they organised in memory of their late daughter, Rhiannon, and was held at Newport's new International Convention Centre.
Trainee teacher Ms Smith was killed in a car crash on the A48 near Llandevaud, east of Newport, in March 2017.
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Since then, her parents have worked tirelessly to raise awareness of road dangers and to campaign for improved road safety, setting up the Rhiannon Jade Smith Memorial Trust in their daughter's memory.
Since the inaugural conference last year, the Smiths said there were some signs of progress.
Dr Julian Smith and his wife Gillian at the road safety conference being held in memory of their daughter Rhiannon Jade Smith. Picture: www.christinsleyphotography.co.uk
"There seems to be a lot more people engaged and involved, and we do see 20mph zones appearing, but progress is very slow," Dr Julian Smith, Rhiannon's father, said.
"Ultimately five people a day are killed on the roads, and 70 people are seriously injured. In any other walk of life there’d be outrage."
Mrs Smith said: "The overall frustrating thing is that unlike illness this is something we can do something about. We’re in control of it, but we don’t really do anything about it.
"It’s only by doing these conferences and raising awareness that we feel like we can take a step forward."
At this year's conference, speakers included police officers, members of Welsh speed agency GoSafe, and Rod King – founder of national speed-limit reduction campaign 20's Plenty for Us.
Rhiannon Jade Smith
There were also presentations from academics, and the keynote speech, on the relationship between drivers and cyclists, was given by Bath University lecturer Dr Ian Walker.
Among the audience were members of county, town, and community councils.
One of them, Newport's deputy mayor Cllr Charles Ferris, said: "Road safety is one of those issues that should be of significance to us all, whether we are drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, or horse-riders.
"It is clear we must work together to reduce the numbers of those who are killed or injured on our roads."
The Smiths said they had never planned to get involved in road safety, but hoped sharing their own story could improve drivers' awareness.
"Being more thoughtful with other road users – that’s got to be the principal area," Dr Smith said. "People just aren’t thoughtful enough. It’s all about 'me' – 'I’ve got to get to so-and-so as quickly as possible'."
Mrs Smith said: "There’s nothing you want more than to try and make a positive out of this negative and make other people realise that this is what it’s like.
"That’s why we are so passionate about this.
"If we could try and do something positive out of what has happened to us, that would be marvellous."
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