Latest News, Events and Updates
Travelling in Extreme Heat | Summer 2025
During the summer, you may be going on holiday, having a day out, or visiting friends and family. You may also be travelling on roads that you’re unfamiliar with. Whatever you’re looking to do, National Highways want you to do it safely.
Remember before you travel:
- Make sure your vehicle is fit for the journey and carry out vehicle checks
- Check the weather forecast for your route and destination
- If hot weather is forecast, take plenty of drinking water for you and your passengers
- Allow plenty of time for your journey, including regular breaks
- Check travel conditions before setting out and, where it's safe to do so, during the journey
During periods of extreme hot weather, adjust your travel to avoid the hottest days and times of day if you can.
Pack a summer kit:
- drinking water
- snacks that won’t be affected by the heat
- a fully charged mobile phone and a charger
- a hat
- sunglasses
- sun block
- any emergency medication you may need
Top tips for summer driving:
- Think about other road users, including cyclists, motorists, pedestrians and horse riders, and give them space and time
- Cut out the glare by taking suitable sunglasses with you
- Check caravans and trailers before you tow them and if you need towing mirrors
- Keep an eye on the temperature of your vehicle’s engine
Please visit National Highways to find out more.
Too Close for Comfort? Stay Safe, Stay Back | Summer 2025
National Highways reminds us of the consequences of tailgating and the importance of maintaining a safe following distance of at least two seconds. By doing this, you actively reduce the risk of collisions and ensure a more comfortable and secure experience for every driver, cyclist, and pedestrian using the road.
Remember:
- Driving too close to the vehicle in front creates a sense of pressure for the other driver and evokes the same unsettling feelings as standing unnecessarily close to someone in everyday life.
- To use the two-second rule, pick a fixed point ahead like a bridge or sign. When the vehicle in front passes it, count "one thousand one, one thousand two." If you reach that same point before you finish counting, you're too close – slow down to create more space.
- To double this gap in wet weather and increase it even more when it's icy for safe stopping.
Make the Change: Two Seconds is all it takes
Please visit National Highways to find out more.
Drink a Little, Risk a Lot | Summer 2025
The latest ‘THINK!’ campaign from the Department for Transport highlights the consequences of drink driving. They are challenging perceptions around personal limits by raising awareness that even a little bit of alcohol can put you and your licence at risk.
THINK! 0% is a new platform that encourages drivers to always opt for 0% over an alcoholic drink if they are getting behind the wheel. You can set new and safer habits without missing out on good times.
Don’t take the risk, THINK! 0%.
Please visit THINK! to find out more about their campaign.
Calling All Key Stage One Staff in Sandwell Schools | 2025
Digital Road Safety is still available completely free of charge for all Sandwell schools. Research shows that children learn road safety best by being immersed in the environment.
Following recognised pedestrian training techniques, children view the roadside from the unique viewpoint of the pedestrian and by looking right and left they are in a tangible situation.
Visit Digital Road Safety and get started!
Coming soon!
A new app-based version with new content for KS1 and Year 6. Why not contact us if you would like to be one of the first to get involved.
Help us to pilot this new exciting resource. For more information email Road_Safety@sandwell.gov.uk
Record, Report, Result! | West Midlands Police Operation Snap 2025
West Midlands Police want to make sure our roads are as safe as possible for all users, and they need your help with Operation Snap.
Did you know you can now send footage of dangerous drivers to West Midlands Police, so that action can be taken?
Each piece of footage, whether recorded on a dashcam, CCTV or a mobile phone held by a passenger, is reviewed by specially trained staff. If an offence is identified, the driver can be prosecuted or told to take a driver improvement course.
Offences might include:
- dangerous driving
- using a mobile phone while driving
- not wearing a seatbelt
- failing to stop at a red traffic light
- using a trailer in lane three of a motorway
- crossing solid white lines
- other offences where a driver is clearly not in proper control of a vehicle
Thousands of people have already sent in dashcam, helmet cam and mobile footage showing careless and reckless driving that puts lives at risk.
Four in five reports sent in by the public have resulted in a positive outcome, including warning letters, education courses, fixed penalties and prosecution.
Reports must be submitted within 10 days of the alleged offence and footage should include the whole incident (and, wherever possible, one minute prior to and after the offence).
Along with the footage, submissions need to include details about the date, time and location of the incident, and the registration, make and colour of the vehicle.
If you are reporting an incident that involves a collision, please do not use this service. Instead, please call West Midlands Police on 101, select option 1 and provide details within 24 hours of the collision taking place.