Driving road safety
25.08.23 - Merseyside
Merseyside's Police Commissioner will join partners hosting a post collision response demonstration whereby emergency services will attend a dummy collision and highlight the work that goes into saving a life today (Friday, 25th August).
The event will be led by Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service and supported by Merseyside's Road Safety Partnership (MRSP), Merseyside Police and Liverpool City Council.
It is part of the work being delivered through the LCR Road Safety Strategy, Vision Zero, which sees the MRSP have dedicated resources, time and work to maintain effective post collision response.
The event will be between 11:00 – 12:00 on Friday 25th August 2023 at Williamson Square, Liverpool and officers will be spending time talking about road safety issues with members of the public afterwards.
Merseyside’s Police Commissioner Emily Spurrell said: “Sadly, we continue to see far too many times a year the devastation caused by poor driving, particularly when selfish individuals take drink or drugs and get behind the wheel.
“I’m committed to working with partners to take action to improve road safety and reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads.
“Today’s event is an excellent opportunity to highlight the potentially catastrophic consequences of poor driving and the reality of being involved in a traffic collision, with the aim of encouraging more people to drive in a considered and safe way.”
Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport and Connectivity, Councillor Dan Barrington, said: “Road safety – whether you’re behind the wheel or a pedestrian – is paramount, and we’re proud to work in partnership on this event which highlights the importance of responsibility when it comes to being on our roads.
"It is also a key event to raise awareness and applaud the collaborative, life-saving efforts which take place after a collision – which so many of us take for granted. Working together, we can make our roads as safe as possible, driving change together.”
The input isn’t only driver based but is aimed at all road users, we utilise vehicles for the event itself however in the real world road traffic collisions can be anywhere, at any time, involving anyone. We ensure the input is inclusive and informative, we will be engaging with people before, during and following the event, come and speak to us, we may have some great advice for you depending on how you use the road.
Sergeant Garreth Berry from Merseyside Police said: "The event demonstrating post collision response comes during our annual summer drink and drug drive campaign; Operation Limit.
"We see numerous arrests for drink and drug driving every year and as one of the fatal four contributing factors we want to highlight the dangers and risks associated with drink and drug driving.
"Taking drugs or drinking alcohol before driving is reckless and far too often ends in collisions like the one you will see at Fridays event. As per the LCR Road Safety Strategy, road safety is everyone’s responsibility, make the right choice, don’t drink and drive, don’t drug drive.”
The fatal four are driving offences that contribute to serious injuries or fatalities in road traffic collisions, they consist of: excessive speed, mobile phone use, failing to wear a seatbelt and alcohol and drugs use.
Police forces across the country work to tackle the fatal four in the pursuit of Vision Zero.