Date: 20th March, 2017
Some 400 Swindon students will experience a hard-hitting road safety presentation later this 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 heart-breaking detail.
On Friday (24 March), students from Nova Hreod Academy, New College and the Oakfield Project will see the presentation at two special shows being held at the College’s Phoenix Theatre.
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 wants it to be essential viewing for every school in Swindon and Wiltshire.
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.”
He added: “We run a programme of roadshows every Autumn term for Year 11 and college students across Swindon and Wiltshire, and the shows this week are for those establishments that couldn’t fit into the schedule last year. We’re already planning this year’s presentations, and we also work with businesses and the military to run shows for as many different high-risk audiences as possible.”