More than 5,500 students from across Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole will experience a hard-hitting road safety presentation over the coming months.
Safe Drive Stay Alive targets students in Year 11 and above who will soon be learning to drive and whose friends may already be driving. The presentation 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.
Between 28 September and the end of January, the presentation will be seen by students at a number of schools including Gryphon School in Sherborne, Thomas Hardye School in Dorchester, Sir John Colfox Academy in Bridport and Sherborne School for Girls.
Safe Drive Stay Alive is a road safety initiative coordinated by Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service on behalf of the Road Safety Dorset partnership.
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.”
A parallel programme of schools shows is being held in Wiltshire between now and Christmas.
More dates are being added to the current programme. If you would like to book the roadshow for your school, please contact Phil Villain on 07500 815924 or email phil.villain@dwfire.org.uk
For more about Safe Drive Stay Alive, visit www.facebook.com/SafeDriveStayAliveDorset
