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Radio campaign targets business drivers

New radio adverts will highlight the benefits to employees and employers of driving within the legal speed limit and wearing seatbelts.

The Kent & Medway Safety Camera Partnership and Kent's road safety team are launching the adverts as part of the ongoing Driving Business - Safely! campaign.  

The adverts feature Baz (the boss) and Bri (the apprentice) who drive together for a living, chatting and joking about their driving attitudes and behaviours.

Rachel Moon, the Partnership's communications manager, said: "The adverts are humorous but do have a serious message - one third of all crashes involve someone driving at work. It is vital for businesses to look closely at how their employees are driving."

For further details about the campaign go to: www.kmscp.org/drivingbusinesssafely

Parents 'safest drivers'
Parents are among the safest drivers on the road, according to new research from Privilege Insurance (Road Safe newsletter, June).

The findings reveal that parents driving with children in their car are half as likely to have an accident or breach road safety rules as the average driver. The tendency to break the speed limit also drops when a child is in the car.

Only half the parents surveyed (53%) admitted to having exceeded the speed limit over the past five years with a child present, in comparison with three quarters (77%) of all drivers.

Perhaps more surprisingly, parents driving with a child are more likely to stay focused than the average driver, despite the potential distractions of a young passenger. Almost half (45%) of all drivers admitted to having lost concentration while driving, but this number fell to just 29% among parents.

In all, three quarters of parents acknowledge their driving behaviour alters when their child is in the car - 58% say they drive more safely and 34% become more likely to adhere to road regulations and laws.

For more information about the survey go to: www.privilege.com./aboutus/news.htm

European competition unveiled
A road safety competition has been organized as part of the Fourth European Ministerial Conference, which will be hosted by the Italian Ministry for Transport in Verona, 3-4 November 2006.

One of the main themes of the conference is children, mobility and road safety awareness. The competition will highlight initiatives by local authorities and schools to make children aware of the risks during their daily travels.

For further information and an application for go to: http://ec.europa.eu/transport

One in six admits drink driving at work
Fleet News Network has highlighted a new report showing that one in six employees has driven to work while under the influence of alcohol (Road Safe newsletter, June).

The survey, by insurance company Royal & Sun-Alliance, was carried out among full-time employees and company bosses.

It found that although the introduction of 24-hour drinking has not worsened the problem of morning-after drinking, there is an ongoing 'cultural problem' of people drinking alcohol during the working day.

For the full story go to: http://www.fleetnewsnet.co.uk

Child seat concerns
Out of 74 child car seats examined during a check day organised by Caerphilly County Borough Council, 82% failed with at least one fault.

Two thirds of the problems identified were classed as minor and were remedied there and then. The remaining third were classed as major faults - and a number rendered the seats potentially dangerous to use.

The authority is planning two further child car seat safety events during August and September.

Licence checks highlight dangers for companies
The importance of companies checking the validity of employees' driving licences has been underlined by the License Bureau, which identified seven ineligible drivers, employed by five different companies, out of 500 checked.

The License Bureau says many companies pay little attention to checking the validity of the driving licenses of staff.

It is calculated that there are up to one million drivers on the road without a valid driving licence and the DfT and DVLA estimate these drivers are nine times more likely to be involved in an accident than a licence holder.

For the full story go to: http://www.roadsafe.com/roadsafe2/index.asp

4x4 drivers 'put others at risk'

Drivers of 4x4s are flouting mobile phone and seat belt laws, according to a study by the Imperial College, London.

The study found that 4x4 drivers were four times more likely to use mobile phones than other drivers, while a third more shunned seat belts.

Report author Lesley Walker said the overall levels of law breaking were a 'major concern'.

For the full story go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5107708.stm

Uni hosts four-day casualty reduction course
The University of Plymouth is running a four-day pilot course, Evidence Based Practice in Road Casualty Reduction, commencing 18 July.

The course is designed for road safety practitioners who wish to enhance their skills in evidence appraisal. It will also be appropriate for allied professionals, such as public health practitioners, and those involved in research on road casualty reduction.

The course fee, which is subsidised through funding from the Rees Jeffrey's Road Fund and Devon County Council, is just £50.

For further information or a registration form go to: http://www.plymouth.ac.uk

Safety drive for 'white van man'

Police in Scotland have launched a campaign to tackle 'white van man' syndrome.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpos) says too many van drivers are ignoring safety warnings, and officers across Scotland are mounting high-visibility patrols targeting speeding drivers, those who do not wear seatbelts and those who carry passengers unsafely.

John Vine, chairman of the Acpos road policing business area, said: "We are focusing on van drivers and their passengers because experience tells us that a significant number of them are not wearing seatbelts in vehicles that are being driven at illegal speeds.

"Recent statistics show that one in five crashes involving a van resulted in death or serious injury. This fact alone should be incentive enough for van drivers and their passengers to make absolutely certain that they are not breaking the law and are taking all relevant safety advice on board."

For the full story go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/5108348.stm.

Charity to publish driver manual
The road safety charity Safety House is to publish a new driver manual that 'examines the mental process behind expert driving'.

Mind Driving, by first-time writer Stephen Haley, addresses the driving process from the triple perspective of hazard perception, risk assessment and decision making - everything that goes on in the brain before it tells the hands and feet what to do.

Stephen Haley said: "When I asked people to define safe driving it was all hands and feet rather than eyes and brain, but safe driving is so much more than this. Driving is a mental exercise about the choices you make rather than a physical one about the actions you take.

Mind Driving will officially launch on 19 September 2006, but a review copy can be obtained in advance from Vikki Carley on 020 8665 8024, or newsdesk@driving.org.

Art exhibition opens in Carlisle

An exhibition to raise road safety awareness through art opens in Carlisle this month.

Vroom with a View is a visual arts project by students from North Cumbria Technology College in Carlisle and Samuel King's School in Alston.

The students were asked to think about why road accidents happen and if anything can be done to change things. It is one of seven projects across the north west funded by the Arts Council of England (North West).

For the full story go to: http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Drink drive message 'getting through'
THE message not to drink and drive appears to be getting through to Essex drivers.

During the first two weeks of June, only 59 of 2,187 people breathalysed came back as positive. The summer campaign is aligning itself to the World Cup and other major sporting events.

Chief Inspector Tom Diment, head of road policing, said: "Although the low level of drink drivers looks encouraging it does not mean that the police will be taking a back seat. They will continue to put pressure on motorists so that they carry on following the drink driving laws.

For the full story go to: http://www.eadt.co.uk/content/eadt/news

Eighth anniversary celebrated

Pupils and teachers at a Preston primary school joined RSOs to mark the eighth anniversary of the Together We Can Make The Difference (MTD) campaign.

The children shook a retro-style 'Magic 8-ball', which provides random answers to any questions it is asked, to remind people not to gamble on their safety.

Clare Farrer, Lancashire County Council's principal road safety adviser, said: "We used the magic 8-ball as a fun way to highlight the eighth birthday of the MTD strategy but there is a serious message behind it."

For further information contact Stephen Axon on 01772 533194, or
stephen.axon@css.lancscc.gov.uk

Supermodel supports campaign

Supermodel Jodie Kidd was a surprise visitor to a road safety stand at Newbury races - and became an instant supporter.

West Berkshire's road safety team was promoting an anti-drink-drive campaign to race-goers when 6ft 1in Jodie ducked into the tent - and immediately offered her support for the campaign.

RSO Caroline Scurr said: "Jodie appeared genuinely interested in road safety and showed a particular interest in the drink-drive boards. She was happy to show her support and we welcomed her encouragement."

For the full story go to: http://icberkshire.icnetwork.co.uk

Nursery travel plan 'first'

A car seat clinic was one of the initiatives launched under the first nursery School Travel Plan in South Lanarkshire, which is also believed to be one of the first of in Scotland.

The plan, for Blackwood Primary Nursery School, extends the travel plan programme that has already seen primary schools around South Lanarkshire looking at transport and travel issues involving staff, pupils and parents.

School travel coordinator, Lorraine Hare, said: "All those involved with the Blackwood Nursery travel plan have put in a lot of hard work and that is clearly demonstrated by the number of initiatives that have been put into action in one year. "

Clothing company launches conspicuity fleece

Specialist conspicuity company Xinteractive Clothing has launched a new school fleece in a range of popular dark colours - with reflective and fluorescent cuffs in various colours.  

The fleece is priced at £19.99, which includes the school logo. Special rates may be available for local authorities and school uniform purchasers.

For further information contact Edward Johnson, sales@xinteractiveclothing.com or 01963 220331.