Date: 12th October, 2017
Around 900 Year 11 students from West Wiltshire will experience a hard-hitting road safety presentation next week.
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 heartbreaking detail.
The Odeon cinema in Trowbridge will host four shows over two days on 16-17 October, which will be attended by students from Wiltshire College, St Laurence School in Bradford on Avon, Melksham Oak Community School, Kingdown School in Warminster, Matravers School in Westbury, The Clarendon Academy and St Augustine’s Catholic College (both Trowbridge).
Safe Drive Stay Alive is a Wiltshire and Swindon road safety initiative coordinated by Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service on behalf of a partnership including Wiltshire Police, Wiltshire Council, Swindon Borough Council, Arval Ltd, Wiltshire Air Ambulance and Severn Major Trauma Network.
Since its launch in 2006, the roadshow has been seen by thousands of students – and the organising team is hoping that it will soon be essential viewing for every school in the county.
Ian Hopkins, road safety manager at Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, explained: “The presentation is hard hitting and upsetting, but we make no apology for that. The speakers are real people who have experienced the horror of road traffic collisions, whether as a member of the emergency services, as a victim or as a parent who has lost a child. It is this truthfulness that makes it so successful. We know that the young people who see this roadshow are affected, and we have seen the number of young people killed or seriously injured on our roads decrease since the programme started. We really do make a difference.”
Safe Drive roadshows are being held for schools across Wiltshire between now and December, with presentations still to be held in Tidworth, West Lavington, Chippenham and Marlborough.
There will also be a number of shows held specifically for military personnel in November, and a parallel programme of shows for schools in Dorset is underway.