Date: 14th November, 2019
Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service is working in partnership with several other organisations to support National Road Safety Week, which is running between 18 and 24 November.
The Service is actively involved in both the Wiltshire & Swindon Road Safety Partnership and Dorset Road Safe, and leads on the delivery of the Safe Drive Stay Alive and Survive the Drive roadshows.
Some 4,200 people will be directly targeted during National Road Safety Week, via a range of different presentations.
Safe Drive Stay Alive uses powerful personal testimony and dramatic video footage to make the audience aware of the tragedy and suffering caused by road traffic collisions.
Firefighters, medics, police officers, bereaved parents and people who have been directly involved in road traffic collisions recount their stories, often in heart-breaking detail.
Two shows will be held at Weymouth Pavilion on Monday 18 November for Year 11 students from local schools, while Wellington Academy in Tidworth will host a show for its students on Friday 22 November.
Business drivers will be the focus of two special shows hosted by fleet management company Arval UK in Swindon on 18 November.
Survive the Drive is aimed specifically at defence personnel – statistics show that vehicle-related collisions are the second largest cause of non-operational fatalities and injuries across the Ministry of Defence, only exceeded by training incidents.
These shows, based on the Safe Drive Stay Alive format, will be held at Tidworth Garrison Theatre on Tuesday 19 November and Thursday 21 November, and at Blandford Camp on Wednesday 20 November.
Christine Sharma, road safety manager at Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “National Road Safety Week is a great opportunity to consider all of the risks to drivers, rather than focusing on one specific issue. Everyone has a responsibility for road safety, whether they are a driver or a passenger, and our education programme is designed to bring that home as effectively as possible.”
For more about the road safety charity Brake and National Road Safety Week, visit www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk
For more about the road safety work carried out by Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, visit www.dwfire.org.uk/road-safety-education