Cambridgeshire woman makes road safety plea in memory of husband
Chelsie Roberts' husband Brad was killed near Littleport earlier this year
A Cambridgeshire woman - whose husband was killed while riding his motorbike - wants roads to be made safer, to prevent others losing their loved ones.
Bradley Roberts died after his motorbike collided with a car on the A1101 near Littleport in January.
The driver - Alicja Grabska - was given a suspended prison sentence for death by careless driving earlier this month.
Brad's wife Chelsie told us why she thinks safer roads are needed.
"There would be less obstructions, less distractions, less mechanical effects on the vehicles and it'd be removing another hazard from the road, so I think it would reduce the number of casualties," she said.
"We can't omit them completely because there is accountability that lies with each road user.
"Ultimately, any improvements the council can make to the roads would greatly improve the conditions that road users are using and hopefully dramatically reduce the chance of collisions."
More than £40m to improve highways
In its budget proposal for 2025-26, Cambridgeshire County Council wants to invest £21 million in fixing roads, cycleways, footpaths and drainage systems next year with an extra £20m spent the following year.
That's if the council's plans to increase its share of council tax to 4.99% for 2025-26 go ahead.
Previously, the county council had pledged to invest £43m in improving highways, including repairing and preventing potholes.
As a motorcyclist herself, Chelsie has seen the issues on some of our roads close up.
"I've seen it before on some of the Fen roads where they've done a repair to the road and within a short amount of time, the sides seem to be dropping and you're getting potholes appearing again very quickly," she said.
"A motorbike does require balance and if you're having to swerve to avoid something, you're at risk of the motorcycle going down so a lot of the roads could be more enjoyable if they were improved."
Chelsie wants to set up a road safety campaign of her own in Brad's memory to help vehicle drivers become more aware of bikers through educational courses.
She believes if roads were improved, that would mean "drivers would have one less thing to contend with",
"In the long term, I do feel they will be improved, but the reality is they can't shut everywhere at once and as quick as they're making repairs, the roads are sinking again."
Councillor Lucy Nethsingha, leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, said that next year's budget - including the delivery of highways improvements - “is going to be challenging."