PRESS RELEASE: EMBARGOED UNTIL 00.01 Wednesday 8 November 2006
Contact: Dianne Ferreira, Communications Officer
Tel: 01484 559909 / 07976 069159 (out of hours)
Websites: www.brake.org.uk and www.roadsafetyweek.org
Bereaved parents launch campaign to cut young driver crashes in South West
- as survey finds racing and risk-taking by young drivers plagues the region’s roads
Three out of ten young people (30%) in the South West have driven or been a passenger in a road race, finds a survey of 287 15-25 year-olds across the region. The survey is released today at the Bristol launch of National Road Safety Week – co-ordinated by road safety charity Brake and supported by ASDA, Direct Line and Green Flag Motoring Assistance.
The charity will also uncover Government statistics showing the appalling extent of deaths and injuries among the region’s young people in road crashes – the biggest killer of 15-24 year-olds.[1]
Journalists, photographers and film crews are invited to attend a media launch and photocall:
Time: 10AM Wednesday 8 November
Location: Norton Radstock College, Principal Site, South Hill Park, Radstock, Bath BA3 3RW
Image: 13 young people holding a banner saying ‘13 young people killed and seriously injured in vehicles every week on South West roads’.[2]
Launching the Week are Clare Brixey from Frume, Kim Heath from Devises and John Parsons from Bath, who will be urging young people in the South West to commit to never taking risks as drivers or passengers.
Clare Brixey’s son Ashley was killed aged 20, while getting a lift home with a friend after a night out. The driver was twice over the drink drive limit and had been using drugs. He lost control and drove into a swimming pool. Ashley drowned.
Kim Heath’s son Jason Rawlings was also killed as a passenger with a drunk driver, at the age of 22. The driver, with whom Jason was friends for years, had no licence or insurance. He is now serving a five-year prison sentence.
John Parsons’ life was turned around two years ago at the age of 17, when he crashed a motorbike. He wasn’t wearing a helmet when he hit a wall and was thrown off. He received serious head injuries and was lucky to make a full recovery.
The launch will also be attended by Sarah Fatica, campaign manager at Brake, who will be available to talk about Brake’s survey findings, and Brake’s calls for action to stop tragic deaths and injuries of young people on roads.
Government statistics uncovered by Brake reveal that 13 young drivers and passengers are killed or seriously injured every week on South West roads.[3] In the region in 2005, 80 drivers, passengers and motorcyclists aged 15-25 were killed and 608 were seriously injured.[4] Serious injuries include brain damage, spinal injuries and limb-loss.
Other results from Brake’s survey of 287 young people in the South West include:
· A quarter (26%) have driven without a licence
· One in 14 (7%) has driven a stolen vehicle
· Nearly one in five (18%) has been a passenger with a driver who they knew was unlicensed, uninsured, or who had stolen the car
· A quarter (26%) have been a passenger in a car driven by a driver on drink or drugs.
· Almost half (46%) don’t always belt up in the back
Out of the young people surveyed who drive:
· Almost half (46%) have broken 30mph limits by 10mph or more. Of these, seven in ten (70%) are male
· Nearly a quarter (23%) have overtaken at speed when they are unsure of what is coming in the other direction. Of these, nine out of ten (87%) are male.
· Three out of ten (30%) have driven at more than 70mph on a rural road. Of these, nearly three-quarters (72%) are male
· One in five (20%) has driven after drinking alcohol
· One in seven (14%) has driven on illegal drugs
Dave Gollicker, communications manager at Avon and Somerset Safety Camera Partnership, will be attending the launch to promote the messages of the Partnership's local 'Keep the Romance Alive' campaign, which is aimed at young drivers and passengers. Also attending will be Mike Baugh, road safety co-ordinator at Bath and North East Somerset Council, who can speak about local young driver education initiatives, and Inspector Martin King from the Road Policing Unit at Avon and Somerset Constabulary, who can speak about local traffic enforcement.
Clare Brixey says: “In October 2004 a young drugged driver changed my family’s lives forever. My 20 year-old son Ashley was killed while travelling as a passenger in a friend’s car on their way home from a night out. Many young drivers see driving as thrilling and exciting, an expression of their freedom. Some come under intense peer pressure to take risks behind the wheel. But as I know all too well, the combination of inexperience and risk-taking can be devastating. I’m helping to launch Road Safety Week to urge every driver – young and old – to take responsibility for their actions behind the wheel and make a pledge to drive safely. That means never speeding, never driving on drink or drugs, and always belting up. By doing this, we will be working as a community to stop needless tragedies like the death of my son.”
Kim Heath says: “My son chose to get into a car with a drunk driver and put himself at risk. He paid the highest possible price. Life is so precious and yet so many young people risk their own lives and those of their friends – all too often leading to tragedies like the death of my son. I would like urge all young people to think about how they can stay safe as drivers and passengers and never put your own and other people’s lives in danger.”
John Parsons says: "My life was turned upside down becauseI took a stupid risk that could have killed me. I was in a coma for five days and my mum was told I could die. I was lucky - I recovered and now my life is back on track. But I feel like a different person. I can't get over whyI did something so dangerous, but I guess I'll never know because ofamnesia caused by the crash. What I do know is there are too many young people willing to take risks on roads and they need to realise the possible consequences. I'm supporting Road Safety Week to encourage young people to do everything they can to stay safe - don't risk putting yourself and your family through the agony of being in a serious crash."
Sarah Fatica, campaign manager at Brake, says: “Every week in the South West, more families and communities suffer tragic deaths and injuries caused by risk-taking young drivers. Yet road deaths and injuries are preventable – through young people taking more responsibility for their actions on roads, and through a combined effort by parents, communities and our Government to help young drivers stay safe. We’re calling on all young people in the region to commit to staying within speed limits, never driving on drink or drugs and always belting up. Even if you feel confident behind the wheel, you’re never immune to the potentially life-shattering consequences of taking risks on our roads.”
Brake is calling on the Government to take action to tackle road death and injury involving young people. Brake wants:
- A system of graduated driver licensing (GDL), so there is a minimum period of learning to drive, followed by a provisional licence period where newly-qualified drivers have restrictions placed upon them, such as night-time driving curfews and limits on numbers of passenger. GDL radically reduced car crash injuries to 15-19 year-olds (by 23%) when introduced in New Zealand.[5]
- Compulsory road safety education in schools for all ages, so that young people develop an understanding of the risks of the road by the time they leave school and learn to drive.
- Year-round prime-time TV advertising aimed at young people on key safe driving topics such as speeding, drink and drug driving and seat belt use.
- More investment in dedicated traffic police and enforcement technology, such as Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras, designed to catch unlicensed and uninsured drivers.
The facts about young driver and passenger casualties in the UK
· Nationally, road crashes are the biggest killer of 15-24 year-olds.[6]
· In 2005 in the UK, 846 drivers, passengers and motorbike riders aged 15-25 were killed, 7,362 were seriously injured and 62,146 were slightly injured. That’s one 15-25 year-old driver or passenger killed or seriously injured every hour.[7]
· One in eight car licence holders are aged under 25, [8] yet one in three (33%) drivers who die on UK roads are under 25 (up from 29% in 2004). [9]
· One in four (26%) convictions for causing death by dangerous driving are against under-21s.[10]
About Brake’s survey
Brake surveyed 4,486 young people aged 15-25 across the UK, including 287 in the South West. Surveys were completed anonymously by students in secondary schools, sixth form colleges and further education colleges.
Notes for editors
Brake is an independent national road safety charity. Brake exists to stop the 9 deaths and 89 serious injuries that happen on UK roads every day and to care for families bereaved and seriously injured in road crashes. Brake produces educational literature, runs community training programmes and runs events including Road Safety Week (6–12 November 2006). Brake’s Fleet Safety Forum provides up-to-date fleet safety resources for fleet managers. BrakeCare, Brake’s support division, cares for road crash victims through a helpline and other services.
To attend the launch and set up interviews with Brake, Claire Brixey, Kim Heath and John Parsons, call 01484 559909 (or 07976 069159 out of hours).
ENDS
[1] Deaths by age, sex and underlying cause, 2005 registrations: Health Statistics Quarterly 30
[2] Figures obtained by Brake from the Department for Transport, 2006. Regional statistics include Avon Somerset, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Devon Cornwall police force areas.
[3] Figures obtained by Brake from the Department for Transport, 2006
[4] Figures obtained by Brake from the Department for Transport, 2006
[5] Figures from Land Transport New Zealand, 2006
[6] Deaths by age, sex and underlying cause, 2005 registrations: Health Statistics Quarterly 30
[7] Figures obtained by Brake from the Department for Transport, 2006
[8] Figures obtained Driving Standards Agency’s press office, 2006
[9] Statistics obtained by Brake from the Department for Transport on Great Britain casualties and statistics from www.psni.police.uk (Police Service of Northern Ireland) for Northern Ireland
[10] Motoring Offences and Breath Test statistics England and Wales 2004 (Home Office, 2005)