Students from Newcastle College have thrown their weight behind a road safety campaign by Road Safety GB North East (RSGB NE) police and fire services.
Young motorists are being urged to drive with care after the latest figures released by RSGB NE showed that drivers aged between 17 and 24 continue to be the highest risk group on the region’s roads, with the highest number of fatalities in the region since 2017.
Speeding, distraction, drink and drug driving, and failing to wear seatbelts are considered the fatal four causes. Around 88% of young people killed on the roads were not wearing seatbelts at the time, and almost a quarter (23%) of those injured were involved in a collision where speed was a factor, rising to 36% of those killed. And whilst young drivers were not always at fault, they remain the highest risk group.
Newcastle College student Olivia Russell said: “I think it’s really important to make young people stop and think before they get in their cars, especially if they’ve just passed their tests.
“It’s easy to think ‘that’ll never happen to me’, but you never know. The best way to make sure it doesn’t is to drive as safely as possible, and always wear a seatbelt.”
Peter Slater, Chair of RSGB NE, added: “Every year we see young people tragically killed and injured in road collisions, causing enormous heartache to so many families. The majority of the time, they could easily have been avoided.
“We are urging young drivers to do everything they can to keep themselves and their passengers safe by being sensible and taking responsibility for each other. They need to ask themselves, could they live with it if they were responsible for the death of their friend or another person?”
For more information about Road Safety GB North East, road safety advice and campaigns, go to https://www.lookoutroadsafety.co.uk.