Firefighters will demonstrate the shocking consequences of being involved in a road traffic collision when they take part in a road safety event in Wakefield city centre.
The Roadshow on 10 August will see the fire crews cutting casualties out of vehicles in a mock road traffic collision. A number of extrications will take place throughout the day.
There will also be demonstrations of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Seatbelt Sledge throughout the day, which simulates a 7mph impact. This in itself is catastrophic and so it illustrates how much worse a 30mph impact would be if the motorist was not wearing a seatbelt. There will also be a ca 1-r simulator, which allows members of the public to experience driving with a range of distractions.
The WYFRS road safety roadshow vehicle will be there to attract the attention of passers-by and WYFRS’s mascot Blaze Bear will entertain the children.
The event, run in partnership with West Yorkshire Police, Wakefield Council Road Safety, and the Institute of Advanced Motorists, will drive home important road safety messages about wearing seatbelts and reach young, inexperienced drivers.
PC Richard Clarke from West Yorkshire Road Traffic Police will bring a roads policing vehicle for the children to have a sit in and will be on hand to give advice on all road traffic matters, along with Sue Wilson, Education, Training and Publicity Team Leader from Wakefield Council, who will be on hand to offer advice on road safety.
Claire Bradbury, WYFRS’s Wakefield Prevention Team Leader, said: “Last year, for every person injured and/or rescued from a fire by West Yorkshire firefighters, there were five people injured and/or rescued in road traffic collisions. [i] For this reason, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is urging drivers to consider the consequences of their actions behind the wheel. Speed, distraction and failure to wear seatbelts are all the biggest killers on the road and we hope the extrication will get this message across.”
[i] 2011 statistics from WYFRS based on 531 rescues/injuries from 3,763 primary fires (0.14) and 664 rescues/injuries from 881 RTCs (0.75).
