Emergency services join together for Road Safety Week

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and Cheshire police are getting involved in Road Safety Week, the awareness campaign coordinated annually by the charity Brake.

The week runs from Monday 20 – Sunday 26 November with the theme of the week focussing on speed.

Speeding is a big problem in the UK and is a contributory factor in nearly a quarter of fatal road crashes, and this campaign aims to encourage road users to ‘speed down’ to save lives.

Colin Heyes, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Road Safety Manager, said: “This year, we are encouraging drivers to ‘speed down’ in order to save lives. It is important that members of the public realise the impact that speeding can have. You may just be trying to make up time when running late, but travelling at excess speed could be the difference between a safe journey and one that ends in a fatality.

“Breaking the speed limit or travelling too fast for the conditions is recorded by police at crash scenes as a contributory factor in more than one in four (27%) fatal crashes in Great Britain. This is why it is imperative that we make sure the public of Cheshire join us in supporting this national campaign. Firefighters across the county are hosting their own events to educate the public on the campaign, encourage them to speed down, and only use the car if necessary – as well as reducing the number of road casualties, public transport, walking and cycling are also much better for the environment and for your health.”

Inspector Steve Griffiths, Cheshire police’s roads policing lead said: “The rules of the road are there for a reason. Travelling at excess speeds on public roads does not allow a driver or rider to travel safely so they can deal with common place events on the road – such as changes in driving conditions and actions taken by other road users.

“Road safety is a critical issue for all communities. Most have been affected at some point by injury or death caused by crashes, and all will experience risks using roads. Road Safety Week is an ideal opportunity to get local people to support us to work towards safe and sustainable travel for everyone. That is why we’re supporting this year’s Road Safety Week, and strongly encouraging the public to ‘speed down’ to save lives.”

Police & Crime Commissioner for Cheshire, David Keane said: “We need to make road safety everyone’s responsibility and that is why it is so important that people across Cheshire support our emergency services – and important campaigns like this – to help make our roads safer.

“Safety on our network of roads is an important priority for Cheshire, and that’s why I’m committed to working with partners to bring the number of deaths and serious injuries down. Whether it’s speeding, drink driving, or being distracted at the wheel, we need to work together to tackle it. Every single resident in Cheshire has the right to use our roads safely.”