Cleveland Fire Brigade is teaming up with the police, a major retailer and local authorities to drive home safe driving messages to motorists as part of CFOA's National Road Safety Day [6 July].

Figures show that during 2011 there were a total of 12 fatalities and 1345 casualties as a result of road traffic collisions throughout the area.

In effort to reduce this, firefighters from Grangetown Fire Station, along with police and road safety officers will be at the Tesco Extra superstore in Southbank this Friday to show members of the public Redcar & Cleveland Council's road safety caravan, the Brake Reaction Simulator and the recently launched Neighbourhood Policing Community Speedwatch initiative.

Cleveland have already made great strides in improving road safety with the Brigade being awarded the prestigious European Road Safety Charter earlier this year, but Redcar & Cleveland District Manager Steve Walton wants to make sure this safety message is relayed to the public as much as possible.

"Every year the Brigade attends dozens of road traffic accidents and witness the trauma first-hand that casualties go through," he said.

"Research clearly demonstrates that speed kills and one of the key messages we will be getting across is to urge people to drive safely and stick to the speed limits. Events like this present us with a great opportunity to reach out to local communities and remind them that they can stay safe by following some simple rules."

Some of the key messages the multi-agency event will try to convey area:
- 'Only a fool breaks the 2 second rule': drivers should leave a minimum of 2 seconds between them and the car in front to react to prevent a serious accident.
- 'Watch your speed': 85% of pedestrians who are hit at 40mph will die, compared to 45% at 30mph and 5% at 20mph.

Acting Inspector Keith Kitson of the Cleveland & Durham Specialist Operations Unit said that whilst the number of people killed or seriously injured on Cleveland's roads continues to fall, every death is potentially avoidable. 

"We continue work in partnership with the Fire Brigade and local authorities to get these important messages across, but ultimately we require the support of the motoring public to ensure that they are considerate of other road users and are mindful of the detrimental impact to driving standards due to the use of alcohol, drugs and mobile phones, " said Acting Inspector Kitson.

During the day, firefighters will also be visiting petrol stations throughout the Brigade area to remind motorists of the importance of road safety.

For further safety information visit www.clevelandfire.gov.uk 

Posted 04/07/2012 by richard.hook@pavpub.com