Date: 16th November, 2016
National Road Safety Week is running between 21 and 27 November, and Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service – on behalf of Dorset Road Safe – will be running two events in support of the campaign.
The charity Brake, which runs Road Safety Week, is focusing on six road safety elements:
- Slow – breaking the speed limit or travelling too fast for the conditions is a contributory factor in more than a quarter of fatal road traffic collisions;
- Sober – even one alcoholic drink can affect your ability to drive safely;
- Secure – wearing a seatbelt is still seen as an inconvenience by many, but buckling up can halve the risk of dying in a road traffic collision;
- Silent – drivers who perform a complex secondary task, like using a mobile phone, while at the wheel are three times more likely to crash than non-distracted drivers;
- Sharp – road traffic collisions caused by poor driver vision are estimated to cause 2,900 casualties a year; and
- Sustainable – minimising driving and walking, cycling or using public transport instead helps to make communities safer.
Brake is encouraging people to make an on-line pledge to show their commitment to road safety – visit www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk for more.
Dorset Road Safe is a partnership that brings together Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, Dorset Police, Dorset County Council, Borough of Poole Council, Bournemouth Borough Council, SafeWise, Highways England and South Western Ambulance Service.
During Road Safety Week, nearly 800 students from the Weymouth area will take part in a road safety event at Weymouth Pavilion on 21 November, with a Safe Drive Stay Alive presentation and a display outside the venue.
Then, on 24 November, the Safe Drive roadshow will visit Sherborne Girls’ School, with around 100 students expected to benefit.
Ian Hopkins, road safety manager at Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, is co-ordinating the events on behalf of the partnership. He 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.”