Police stop more than 70 motorists in crackdown following cyclist hit-and-run deaths

Police in Birmingham responded to a string of hit-and-run incidents in the city by undertaking a day of action targeting dangerous driving, with more than 70 motorists stopped, including one allegedly watching a video on their phone behind the wheel.

The operation came following the deaths of two cyclists in hit-and-runs in May, a third killed in a collision on June 8, a week before a fourth incident saw two pedestrians, a boy and a woman, seriously injured, and sparking a roadblock protest in Kings Heath.

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West Midlands Police yesterday carried out a joint road safety op alongside Birmingham City Council. At Belgrave Middleway, the scene of the collision which killed Hussien Nur Teklise on May 16, more than 40 drivers were stopped on suspicion of a number of offences, the BBC reports, including having visibility-reducing tinted windows, as well as driving without insurance or with dangerous defects.

🎬 #WATCH as our team joined colleagues from @WMPolice @Trafficwmp & @BhamCityCouncil in support of the Roads Policing Operation today.

We were educating Road users on #RoadSafety & the Car Cruising injunction we have in #Birmingham

Well done to all involved!#Partnerships pic.twitter.com/H9sMXdRdwo

— BhamCommunitySafety (@bhamcomsafety) June 30, 2023

On the Hagley Road, more than 30 motorists were stopped, one of whom was disqualified and another who did not have documentation, while officers also advised motorists on safe passing of cyclists.

🚗 We’re taking action to make our roads safer!

Today, our officers from @Trafficwmp teamed up with partners for a multi-agency road safety operation in #Birmingham.

We stopped vehicles for excessive tinted windows, dangerous defects and various driving standards issues. pic.twitter.com/DoVGmXbtDA

— Birmingham Police (@BrumPolice) June 30, 2023

West Midlands walking and cycling commissioner Adam Tranter had responded to the hit-and-run deaths by writing a letter calling for a meeting with police and council colleagues to bring about accelerated action to protect vulnerable road users.

Yesterday, Tranter described the police action as "like shooting fish in a barrel, but the fish are really quite dangerous". 

"I don't want to be walking or cycling with my kids with these people when they can't see out of their windows properly or they don't bother with insurance," he added.

Commenting on West Midlands Police's work, supt Gareth Mason said his force was "investing heavily" in road safety and had put 23 extra officers on road policing, with plans for further operations in the future.

"Angry and frightened"

Two weeks ago hundreds of locals lined the road through Kings Heath to protest the hit-and-runs and the dangerous state of the roads in the city.

Today people in Birmingham came together to say "Enough is Enough". Four people have been killed on our roads in the last month, two of whom have been children. Last week a child and their older sibling were run over on their way to school. @for_birmingham is demanding action pic.twitter.com/nJummIIFWZ

— Sarah Chaundler (@ChaundlerSarah) June 18, 2023

"It was extremely poignant, we went there because of the hit-and-run on Thursday, but opposite the railings where we were, there's a memorial to Hope," Paul Manzotti from Better Streets for Birmingham, the campaign group behind the protest told road.cc, referencing the memorial to Hope Fenell who was killed in a collision involving an HGV driver in 2011.

"It's been 12 years, and very little has changed. People are angry and frightened about the state of our roads. There's a real determination and a lot of people have reached the point of 'enough is enough'. We have been at the words stage, now we want action."