RoadPeace is the national charity for road crash victims in the
UK.
Overview
It supports the people affected by road crashes with emotional and practical support and advocacy. It operates a help line and provides practical support to people affected. RoadPeace founded the
World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims and established the RoadPeace Wood within the
National Memorial Arboretum
The National Memorial Arboretum is a British site of national remembrance at Alrewas, near Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. Its objective is to honour the fallen, recognise service and sacrifice, and foster pride in the British Armed Forces and ...
.
The organisation also seeks to change attitudes so that road deaths and injuries are no longer "treated by the economy as acceptable, by the judicial system as trivial and by society as accidents"; that road crash victims are no longer treated as "third class victims, but as people who have undergone a terrible trauma and who therefore need justice, respect for their rights, care, support and acknowledgement of their loss and suffering". They also work to reduce 'road danger' to that of other everyday activities and to improve services and criminal and civil justice in order to greatly reduced number of road crash victims.
History
RoadPeace was founded by Brigitte Chaudhry
MBE following the death of her son in 1990, after which she was shocked at the 'shabby' treatment of his innocent death when is discovered that the response to a road death was very different from the response to any other form of violent death from any other cause. Chaudhry decided to challenge the casual attitude to road casualties and offer support to the victims.
The first Roadpeace meeting was held in 1991, the organisation was established in 1992 with the first ever helpline for road crash victims with Chaudhry was National Secretary;
[ the organisation was publicly launched in April 1993.
RoadPeace organised the first World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims in 1993 which now takes place in many places on every continent on the third Sunday in November every year (a week after ]Remembrance Sunday
Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in Nov ...
which takes place each year in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and which remembers the dead from wars).[
The first trees were planted in the RoadPeace Wood is within ]National Memorial Arboretum
The National Memorial Arboretum is a British site of national remembrance at Alrewas, near Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. Its objective is to honour the fallen, recognise service and sacrifice, and foster pride in the British Armed Forces and ...
in 2001 and the wood was dedicated in 2002. An annual ceremony of remembrance for road traffic victims is now held on the second Saturday in August every year.
In 2005, the World Day of Remembrance was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...
[
Brigitte stepping down from day to day involvement in April 2008 to concentrate on international work.][ She is currently president of RoadPeace.
The organisation won a ]Guardian
Guardian usually refers to:
* Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another
* ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper
(The) Guardian(s) may also refer to:
Places
* Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...
Charity Award in 2008.
See also
* '
* ''Slower Speeds Initiative
The Slower Speeds Initiative is a UK single issue coalition pressure group. It is an unincorporated association, controlled by its management committee, made up of representatives of its founder organisations. Its aims are "to raise awareness of ...
''
* Cynthia Barlow
References
External links
* {{Official website, http://www.roadpeace.org/, RoadPeace official website
Transport charities based in the United Kingdom
Transport advocacy groups of the United Kingdom