Meera Naran, a passionate UK road safety advocate. RELATED Improve vehicle safety with this new UK government strategy Meera Naran on October 29, 2023 She thinks this ordinance is a huge victory in her longterm battle for road safety. Naran’s journey into advocacy started after her eight-year-old son, Dev, was tragically killed in a motorway crash in 2018. He was headed to see his sweet older brother, Neel, who was hospitalized with serious health issues due to multiple complex needs, including epilepsy.
A lorry drifted into Naran’s parked car that was stopped on the side of the M6. Sadly, this unnecessary collision left a woman dead. Dev was not just a son, he was Neel’s cherished “best friend and cheerleader.” Neel was heartbroken by the tragic news of Dev’s passing. For many years, he could hardly talk or walk while he processed and embraced his deep, lasting sorrow. Tragically, he passed away in 2024. At the time of the accident, Naran’s father was at the wheel of the car. Tragically, he himself fell victim to catastrophic injuries from that wreck several years later.
Since that fateful day, Naran has campaigned relentlessly to bring about safer roads and vehicles. She has been a strong advocate for deploying breakthrough technologies, such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB). Her tireless pursuits have included all issues around the horror that unfortunately has become all too familiar with her own family.
Naran’s campaign has recently picked up a lot of steam. It has resulted in her safety pledge, which she refers to as “Dev’s Law”, to require new vehicles to have safety technology. Lilian Greenwood, the local transport minister, praised her commitment, stating that she has worked “tirelessly in memory of her son Dev to champion life-saving technologies.”
“Campaigning through both their losses has been unbelievably difficult but it was bigger than my grief, it was bigger than me, it was bigger than their story.” – Meera Naran
Looking back on her advocacy journey, Naran said she knew she had to make something good come from her grief. “Waking up every day and using that grief to make something far more important than us and see that change happen,” she stated.
The government has just announced a new strategy to improve vehicle safety and reduce road deaths. Naran regards these new commitments as a real advancement. She stressed the importance of the federal government’s recognition of these changes.
“For this government to look at this and not only give their word that they’re going to make that change but to actually see that they have included it in the strategy is really important.” – Meera Naran
Naran is unyielding and on a mission to make sure no other family has to go through the same tragedy. “For me it’s going to be a lifelong campaign to reduce road deaths. I don’t want any other family to go through what we have,” she affirmed.
As she continues to advocate for safer roads, Naran reflects on how technology could have changed the outcome of that tragic day: “Had the lorry involved had autonomous braking, that collision could potentially have been avoided completely and Dev could have walked out and come home to me that night.”