What you can do to help keep road safety in public hands

It is in all our interests that VOSA stays in public hands and has the resources to do its work.

If your children use a school bus, if you travel by bus or coach, if you have witnessed, or been involved in a road traffic accident, please write to the Minister of State for Transport, Mr Jim Fitzpatrick MP, at the House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA, or email: fitzpatrickj@parliament.uk.

If you can, do your own research on statistics for your region and include them in your letter.

Copy your letter to your local MP, MSP or Wales Assembly member. Ask them to write to Fitzpatrick, too.

Members in Scotland and Wales could copy their letters to their relevant ministers:Stewart Stevenson MSP, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change, and Ieuan Wyn Jones AM, Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport.

If you receive a reply from your MP, please send a copy to Helen Stevens at Prospect's Bristol office.

Unions fought and won the battle against privatising VOSA’s work in the 1980's and 1990's. With your help, they can win the argument in 2008.

How to find and contact your MP

TheyWorkForYou.com is a non-partisan, volunteer-run website which aims to make it easy for people to find and contact their elected representatives. From its home page, www.theyworkforyou.com, you can find out who your MP is by entering your postcode.

Another useful site is www.epolitix.com/EN/ which aims to improve communication between parliamentarians, constituents and organisations.

At www.writetothem.com you can contact your councillors, MP, MEPs, MSPs, or Welsh and London Assembly members for free.

The campaign so far

The VOSA campaign group has already:

• written to road safety groups and the press – and union reps have been interviewed in trade magazines
• drawn up a model letter for MPs
• produced posters, leaflets postcards and a regular bulletin
  
• met MPs including members of the Common's transport select committee and Transport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick. Further meetings with the minister and DfT officials are planned.