Pupils to see first-hand the dangers of driving under the influence

Year 11 Carterton Community College students will view on Thursday 27 February at 9am a mocked-up car crash where firefighters from Oxfordshire County Council's Fire and Rescue Service will cut off a vehicle's roof and extract a fake casualty using a spinal board.

The driver will be breathalysed by Thames Valley Police, who will then mock-arrest them for being over the limit. The driver and the casualty will both be played by school drama teachers.

Pupils nearing legal age to drive

The demonstration is being done to show pupils who are approaching the legal age to drive the stark dangers of getting behind a wheel after consuming alcohol or drugs.

It is part of the Fire and Rescue Service's Choices and Consequences road safety campaign, an initiative offered free of charge to secondary schools and a strand of 365alive, a scheme aimed at creating a safer county through preventative and educational work.

Engaging with the age group

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service Watch Manager Kevin Robbins, from Burford Fire Station, organised the event, and will also give a talk with local Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Ross Windsor to the pupils about issues to do with driving while under the influence of drink and drugs.

He said: "Having been in many schools over the past year delivering our Road Safety presentation ‘Choices and Consequences’ to year 10 and 11 children I wanted to deliver something that would practically engage the year group.

"So following a request from the school to revisit I looked at creating a realistic scenario that the children could be faced with in the future. In cooperation with PCSO Ross Windsor from Carterton we devised a joint approach to highlight the dangers of drivers driving under the influence of drink or drugs."

Educating youngsters

PCSO Windsor said: “The majority of students at some point will pass their Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) motorcycle or driving test. This demonstration package, delivered by Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue and Thames Valley Police gives the students a realistic insight into what the emergency services do at the scene of a road traffic collision, and what happens when a drink/drug-driver gets arrested.”