The Service is a lead partner in a road safety programme, aimed specifically at defence personnel.
Statistics show that vehicle-related collisions are the second largest cause of non-operational fatalities and injuries across the Ministry of Defence, only exceeded by training incidents.
Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service has worked in partnership with the Ministry of Defence’s Movement and Transport Safety Regulator, Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service, SAFE South West, Devon County Council and the University of Plymouth to develop ‘Survive The Drive’.
This intervention programme is based on the established, and highly successful, Safe Drive Stay Alive scheme. The aim is that all military personnel, including civil servants, will get a greater understanding of the risks on our roads, and the impact that a road traffic collision can have on them, their families and the wider community.
Part-funded by a grant from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund, Survive The Drive is held at military bases across the Service area. As with Safe Drive Stay Alive, the presentation includes testimonies from a police officer, a paramedic, a firefighter, someone who has caused a road traffic collision, the victim of a road traffic collision, and someone who has lost a family member in a road traffic collision.
The Safe Drive Stay Alive roadshow has been taken to local military bases since 2008, but Survive the Drive is designed specifically for a MOD audience and has now been rolled out across the country.
The strapline is ‘tomorrow is decided today’ as these are people who can relate to the impact of a split-second decision. The aim is for them to recognise the parallels between the decisions they make while operational, and those they make at home when driving, and to adjust their actions accordingly.
Click here to view the Survive The Drive leaflet.