Shaftesbury safety professionals ran an event to reduce road traffic accident figures this weekend, featuring survivors of car crashes and simulated accidents to drive home safety messages.
The two-day event included the chance to ride alongside an advanced police driver, meet a car crash survivor and her mangled car, discuss car maintenance with a mechanic and to watch a simulated car crash in which four volunteers played the parts of the victims. Emergency service workers attended this last event to demonstrate how they would deal with the aftermath of a car accident.
There was also a barbecue, supplied by Tesco. The event was organised by Partners and Communities Together (Pact) members and Shaftesbury Safer Neighbourhood Team.
A local police officer said "Local roads, especially the triangle route from Shaftesbury to Gillingham, Gillingham to East Stour and East Stour to Shaftesbury, have one of the highest rates of traffic accidents in the county, some of which involve young or local drivers.
"We felt it was important to show them the consequences of dangerous driving and judging by some of the shocked faces, I think we got the message across."
*A replacement vehicle can usually be supplied within 4-6 working hours, where there is an admission of liability from the other person’s insurance company. If this person is not known, their insurance details are not known, they are uninsured or there is a potential dispute over who caused the accident, a replacement vehicle cannot be provided.
