As a member of CFOA (Chief Fire Officer’s Association) Humberside Fire and Rescue Service is pleased to support this year’s Brake Road Safety Week which takes place from the 23 to 29 November. The key message for this year’s campaign is “Drive less, live more.”

Road safety is not just about driving safely and legally or using the green cross code. It’s about everyone doing what they can to protect themselves and the people around them to make our streets safer.

Many people walk the few metres from their front door to their car and drive, even if they are only going round the corner. Nationally, four in ten car journeys are less than two miles. Walking, cycling or using public transport not only makes our streets safer by reducing traffic danger, but has personal benefits too. It can save money in car costs, help people live more active lives, reduce stress and illness, reinvigorate communities and cut congestion and pollution.

Healthier, happier kids

The Office of National Statistics have reported that half of our children are driven to school, despite the average school run for primary schools being just 1.5 miles. By walking, cycling or scooting safely to school, children would be encouraged to engage with their community, stay healthy and arrive at school alert and relaxed. Driving less for families can mean more active, sociable lifestyles.

Healthier, happier people

NHS England has reported that one in four adults is obese and a further 37% are overweight. Regular walking, jogging and cycling can help to guard against asthma, depression, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis and some forms of cancer. People who take the bus or train to work instead of driving have a lower BMI (Body Mass Index) and a healthier bodyweight. Driving less can mean improved health, wellbeing and less stress.

Humberside Fire and Rescue Service have attended 377 road traffic collisions so far this year (1 Jan to 1 Nov 2015). In 2014, 865 young people (aged 16 to 24) were injured on the roads of our region, which equates to just over two young people per day. Whilst the number of young people that are killed or seriously injured as a result of a road traffic collision continues to decrease, this age range still represents nearly a quarter (22%) of all the casualties that are killed or seriously injured in the Humberside service area. As such, young people remain a priority group for our local road safety partnership, Safer Roads Humber.

Louise Marritt, Humberside Fire and Rescue Service Road Safety Team Leader, explains:

“Road safety is part of our Service’s core business all year round, but Brake Road Safety Week allows us the opportunity to raise the profile of the proactive, preventative work that we do every single day as an active member of Safer Road Humber. Working closely with our partners, I am really pleased to say that we have an extremely full and varied timetable of education, awareness and large events planned for this year’s Brake Road Safety Week.

We will be incorporating the campaign theme of ‘Drive less, live more’ into our core road safety messaging, which will assist us in achieving our primary goal of reducing the amount of people that are killed or seriously injured on our region’s roads”.

Local events planned for Brake Road Safety Week are as follows:

Mon 23 November
10.00 – 11.30 Priory Children’s Centre, Priory Rd, Hull
Car seat and seatbelt safety session

13.00 – 16.45 Grimsby Institute
‘drive4life’ presentations and iCar Experience

Tues 24 November
09.30 – 11.00 Ainthorpe Children’s Centre, Ainthorpe Rd, Hull
Car seat and seatbelt safety session

14.00 – 16.00 East Riding College, Beverley campus
‘drive4life’ presentations

Wed 25 November
10.30 – 12.00 Windmill Children’s Centre, Burnham Rd, Hull
Car seat and seat belt safety sessions

12.30 – 16.00 Sirius Academy West, Hull
‘drive4life’ presentations and iCar Experience

Thurs 26 November
Franklin College, Grimsby
11.00 – 13.30* Large multi-agency event involving a road traffic collision re-enactment at . Drama students from the college will take part in the demonstration. Supported by HRFS, Humberside Police, NE Lincs Council, Cofley, Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance *Demo starts at 12.15

Fri 27 November
09.00 – 15.00 Full day of ‘drive4life’ presentations and iCar Experience for students