Today all at the centre attended the March for Hope, to celebrate what would have been the fourteenth birthday of Hope Fennell, killed on a pedestrian crossing by a lorry last year. The campaign website is at www.liveinhope.net and a Birmingham City Council e-petition is here
Although the reason for this event was a tragic one, the gathering itself was a powerful, moving and ultimately inspiring one. We appreciated the generosity and bravery of Hope’s mother in opening up her late daughter’s birthday to the community to grieve her loss, celebrate her life, and campaign to guard against other children being injured in the same way. There were many contributing factors in the accident and many approaches suggested for reducing the risk of accidents. The biggest single problem, however is the mind of the driver, and that means most of us.
‘Every man on horseback is an arrogant man, however gentle he may be on foot. The man in the automobile is one thousand times as dangerous.’
It is the assumption in all of our minds that driver has priority over pedestrian. That the driver has a right to get their car to their intended destination and get their without delay. That however many cars may come along a road, those cars must be accommodated. That driving is normal, necessary and not negotitable.
I spoke to a few people about the school flash mob I’m planning and the idea developed towards addressing road safety issues. This makes a great deal of sense as it was the overwhelming apathy and complicity of parents in the traffic problems that Wheelers Lane has faced for the last four years, that motivated me to come up with the idea in the first place.
*R.A. Lafferty, “Interurban Queen,”