Oxford,
04
November
2015
|
16:11
Europe/London

Dramatic campaign to promote safe driving

That is why Oxfordshire County Council’s fire fighters and Road Safety Education Team are supporting Safe Drive Stay Alive - an innovative dramatic presentation, exploring the circumstances and consequences of a road traffic accident.

Safe Drive Stay Alive will be staged at the Kings Centre, Oxford on Monday 9th, Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th November.

Safe Drive Stay Alive is trying to reach soon to be and newly qualified drivers with the emotive and hard-hitting presentation to encourage them to consider the causes and consequences of a road traffic collision.

Aimed at 6th forms and colleges in the Thames Valley, it will include a film of a crash in the local area with roads and hospitals familiar to local students.

This year there is a brand new film setting out a scenario which shows a group of young people on a night out whose car is involved in a collision. As the on-screen drama unfolds, members of the emergency services that are featured in the film step out onto the stage to speak to the audience about their experiences, the reactions of the driver and passengers, the medical implications and how seeing such trauma affects them personally. Until the end, the audience is unsure which of the car's occupants will survive.

The events will also include parents whose child died in a road accident and they will explain the impact their loss has had on them, their family and their friends. 

Survivors will also tell their story, what happened, how their life has changed, what they would do differently and why they hope the audience will learn from their mistakes.

Mick Clarke, Road Safety Manager, Oxfordshire County Council's Fire & Rescue Service, said, "Over 95% of all road casualties come a result of human error, meaning someone got something wrong"

"Sometimes it can be lack of experience but it may be due to the poor choices the driver has made. Choices such as driving a bit too fast for the road conditions, driving with alcohol or drugs inside them, or being distracted by smart phones or similar, seriously affect your ability to concentrate on the road. Is there any call or status update that can't wait until you are safely stopped?”

“All of these will increase the risk of a collision, but if you are not wearing a seatbelt you are now much more likely to be killed or suffer life changing injuries"

Oxfordshire County Council anticipates that more than 5,100 17-24 year olds from schools and colleges all over the county will visit a Safe Drive Stay Alive (SDSA) Road Safety presentation in Oxford, over the three days

This Thames Valley wide partnership* began 10 years ago, in that time 125,000 young drivers have been educated by SDSA. This November, SDSA will be seen by nearly 22,000 young people across Thames Valley and Hampshire.

*SDSA is a partnership between Oxfordshire County Council Fire & Rescue Service, Hampshire Constabulary and Thames Valley Police, South Central Ambulance NHS Trust and Road Safety Officers from Councils across the whole area.

www.safedrive.org.uk

Some statistics:

Last year more than 1 in every 4 road casualties in Oxfordshire involved a young driver (17-24 years old). 

With some of the financial pressures of recent years easing for many, car ownership is now becoming more affordable for younger drivers. With more inexperienced drivers sharing our roads there are likely to be more casualties as a result.

A real worry to road safety professionals is that the picture for 2015 (data to end August) had a young driver involved in one in three road deaths on Oxfordshire roads.

Oxon 2014  Road Casualties

 

CASUALTIES

FATAL

SERIOUS INJURY

KILLED/ SERIOUSLY INJURED (KSI)

% of KSI CASUALTIES

SLIGHT INJURY

TOTAL CASUALTIES

% of TOTAL CASUALTIES

 
 
 

All road casualties

26

352

378

-

1825

2203

-

 

17-24 year old

3

98

101

26.7

504

605

27.5

 

driver involved

 

 

Oxon 2015 provisional road casualty stats (up to end of August)

 

ACCIDENT TYPE

2015 CASUALTIES (1 January  to 31st August)

 

FATAL

SERIOUS INJURY

KILLED/SERIOUSLY INJURED (KSI)

% of KSI CAS

SLIGHT INJURY

TOTAL CASUALTIES

% of TOTAL CASUALTIES

 
 

All road casualties

18

218

236

-

1171

1407

-

 

17-24 year old

6

62

68

28.8

384

452

32.1

 

driver  involved