Over 2000 prospective young drivers and passengers from secondary schools across Barnet took part in a road safety initiative last week.
Putting safety in the driving seat for pupils
As part of Safe Drive Stay Alive, a programme delivered by Barnet Council and Re*, pupils from seventeen Barnet schools attended hard-hitting sessions at the Artsdepot in Finchley.
Officers from the emergency services, parents whose teenage children died in car accidents and a survivor of a collision gave their testimonies to pupils, who were also shown a film taking them through the reconstruction of a fictitious, but typical, scenario which reveals the life-changing, or life-ending, consequences of dangerous driving.
Safe Drive Stay Alive highlighted the five sources of road danger as failing to comply with the law, such as wearing a seatbelt, travelling too fast, risky manoeuvres, peer pressure, including driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and distraction.
Feedback from schools on the success of previous years has ensured increasing support for Save Drive Stay Alive, which has a positive impact on both pupils and staff in regards to keeping young drivers and passengers safe while travelling on the roads.
The Worshipful the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor David Longstaff, who attended one of the sessions, said:
“Safe Drive Stay Alive is a hard-hitting campaign that we are proud to be promoting to all young people in the borough. The personal testimonials were extremely powerful in educating pupils about the importance of driving safely. I have taken so much away from attending one of the sessions myself and thank everyone that makes the event possible.”
This is the second year that Barnet Council has hosted the Safe Drive Stay Alive programme, led in partnership with Transport for London and the emergency services. Barnet is one of 19 London boroughs who run the initiative.
*Re (Regional Enterprise) Limited, or Re, is a Joint Venture between London Borough of Barnet and Capita plc.