The government has announced a new road safety strategy and steps being taken in this to make our roads safer such as action on pavement parking, ghost number plates, and drug driving are welcome. Our borough has seen to many lives lost as roads become racetracks.
It’s encouraging that the government is acting to support our recent local work to tackle dangerous driving in 2025: attending a roadside operation on Broadway with the Oldham Road Policing Unit in Oldham; hosting concerned residents before a community meeting in Chadderton; and writing to the GMP to press them to make local roads safer with increased visibility of road safety officers in hotspot areas, more physical safety measures, & greater education.
But if we’re serious about safety, we also need to fix what’s happening before people even get on the road.
Right now in Oldham the waiting time is an unacceptable 24 weeks. That’s half a year of delays for young people, key workers and anyone needing to drive for work or family life.
Long waits don’t improve safety, they hold people back and pile pressure onto learners and instructors alike.
I’m continuing to push for more to be done to bring down waiting times and make sure Oldham gets its fair share of tests. We need safer roads and a system that actually works for local people.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 