Coventry Approves 20mph Speed Limit on Radford Road After Keaton Slater’s Death

The parents of 12-year-old Keaton Slater have expressed their gratitude after Coventry City Council approved plans to introduce a 20mph speed limit on Radford Road, the site where their son was killed in a hit-and-run incident in June 2024.

Keaton Slater died after being struck by a black BMW while walking home from school on 14 June 2024. The suspect, Dolars Aleksanders, a 21-year-old Latvian national, remains wanted by police in connection with the incident, with ongoing efforts to extradite him to the United Kingdom.

The approved traffic-calming scheme includes not only the reduced speed limit but also the installation of speed bumps, splitter islands, and double yellow lines along Radford Road. A new pedestrian refuge will be added, and a crossing between Wyley Road and Bede Road will be raised to form a “speed table” to further enhance pedestrian safety.

Louise and Clint Slater told the BBC that they felt their voices had finally been heard after a prolonged campaign for safer roads. They emphasized that their motivation was to prevent other families from enduring similar loss, stating: “We don’t want other families to go through what we went through.”

Louise Slater noted that since Keaton’s death, there have been multiple traffic incidents on Radford Road that could have resulted in further fatalities, including an incident involving another girl who was struck by a car but survived. She said: “So many incidents have happened since, and it’s heartbreaking.”

The new 20mph speed limit will apply between Lydgate Road and Aldi on Radford Road and is expected to come into force during the summer months. The measures were supported by Taiwo Owatemi, MP for Coventry North West, who described the changes as “an important step forward” toward achieving lasting road safety improvements in the area.