The fire service is launching a new road safety package geared towards educating Year 10 students across South Yorkshire about how to keep safe on the roads.
The ‘H16HWAY’ package has been developed by South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue, with support from the South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership, and aims to provide young people with the tools and advice they need to keep safe on the roads as pedestrians, cyclists, scooter riders and passengers.
Head of prevention and protection Steve Helps, said: “Every death on our roads is a tragedy, but it is even more keenly felt when it is a young person who loses their life. Young people are over represented in our casualty statistics when it comes to road traffic collisions, therefore it’s important they receive reminders about the safe use of our roads to prevent them from becoming victims.”
Joanne Wehrle, Safer Roads Manager at South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership, said: “Unfortunately, there have been a total of 1522 children and young people between the ages 10 to 16 reported as injured over the last 5 years (2013-2017) on South Yorkshire roads. Of this number, 275 of them, tragically, were either killed or seriously injured as a pedestrian, passenger in a car or as the rider of a motorcycle.
“We support packages like H16HWAY in helping us to deliver key road safety information and advice to young people in a bid to encourage safer behaviours.”
The new package is to be delivered by Fire Community Safety Officers and will involve film clips and group discussions. Each session will last for approximately one hour and the package is free of charge.
The service is looking to deliver the first sessions in schools around South Yorkshire from September 2018.
As one of the single biggest killers of young people, ‘H16HWAY’ will focus on a number of road safety topics:
• Pedestrians – Distractions, risky behaviour and finding safe places to cross the road
• Cyclists – Undertaking long vehicles, blind spots, hi-vis items and bike maintenance
• Scooter riders – Wearing the appropriate gear and minimising the risk of road rash
• Passengers – Wearing seatbelts, the risks of driver distractions and what to do if you feel unsafe in a vehicle
• What to do in an emergency situation
Any schools requiring further information about the “H16HWAY” package or to book a session, please contact South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue education advocate Julie Claytor on 07990 951643 / jclaytor@syfire.gov.uk or Community Safety Co-ordinator Claire Walsh 0776841802 cwalsh@syfire.gov.uk.