Date: 13th October, 2016
Over 1,200 Year 11 students will experience a hard-hitting road safety presentation next 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 heartbreaking detail.
On 18 October, students from The John of Gaunt School and Clarendon Academy, both in Trowbridge; Kingdown School in Warminster; Wiltshire College and Warminster School will attend at the Civic Centre in Trowbridge.
On 19 October, the Civic Centre will host students from St Laurence School in Bradford on Avon; St Augustine’s Catholic College in Trowbridge; The John Bentley School in Calne; and Wiltshire College.
A roadshow will then be held at Devizes School on 21 October.
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 is hoping that it will soon be essential viewing for every school in the county.
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.”
Safe Drive has already been held for over 2,500 students in Swindon and schools in the Salisbury area, and further roadshows will be held for schools across Wiltshire in November and December, with presentations in West Lavington, Tidworth, Marlborough and Chippenham.
There will also be a number of shows held specifically for military personnel in early December.