Emergency services use shock tactics to persuade students to drive safely
A HARD-HITTING road safety presentation aimed at reducing speeding and careless driving on Guernsey’s roads is being delivered to secondary school students this week.
More than 800 of them will attend the event, which is also being live-streamed to St Anne’s school in Alderney for the first time.
Licence to Kill is an initiative produced by Guernsey Fire & Rescue Service, Guernsey Police and the Emergency Ambulance Service.
The live events highlights the devastating consequences of speeding, drinking alcohol, not wearing a seatbelt and using a mobile phone while driving, known as the ‘fatal four’.
Representing the ambulance service was emergency medical technician Jim Cathcart.
‘Road traffic incidents can be devastating, not just for those directly involved but for families and the wider community,’ he said.
‘Everyone’s life is important and we want our roads to be safer for everyone. The messages of Licence to Kill are simple – Don’t speed, don’t drive under the influence of drink or drugs, don’t use a mobile phone or text while driving, and wear a seatbelt.’
The sessions are shown to Year 11 students, who will soon be old enough to drive, and it features footage of local crashes as well as interviews with victims and their families.
‘The Licence to Kill message is hard-hitting because we not only want to raise awareness of the consequences of dangerous driving, but also change attitudes,’ said Fire & Rescue Service crew commander Gavin Robins.
‘We don’t want to meet any of these students the next time we attend a road traffic collision.
‘As the first responders who attend crashes in Guernsey, we know first-hand how people are affected both with the physical injuries as well as the impact they have on people’s mental health and wellbeing.
‘So while the message of this presentation is hard-hitting, we are empathetic to people’s feelings and we do encourage young people to talk about the issues after the presentation.’
Roads policing unit officer Mat Du Port said everyone needed to take road safety seriously.
‘Very sadly in the past couple of years we have seen that serious road traffic collisions do happen in Guernsey and the results can be life changing or fatal. Every driver has a responsibility to themselves, everyone in their car and everyone they pass to act safely.’
PC Du Port believed the road safety message was getting through to the younger generation and coupled with advances in car safety he hoped there would be a reduction in fatalities on the road.
