COW, the graphic texting & driving public information film which we discussed on the Latics blog in August is being given its TV premiere by BBC Wales next week after becoming a global hit on the internet.
The film stars young actors from south Wales and shows a teenager killing four people in a crash when she sends a text from her mobile phone whilst driving.
Filmmaker Peter Watkins-Hughes produced it for Gwent Police as an educational tool for young drivers. It will be broadcast for the first time on BBC Two Wales on Monday 2nd November at 10pm (Sky Channel 991).
A £2.3m advertising campaign launched last week to warn of the risks of driving whilst under the influence of drugs has received a mixed reception from the British public and road safety experts.
The television advert warns motorists that police can spot the involuntary signs of someone being under the influence of drugs if they are stopped. These signs include severely dilated or constricted pupils. The advert shows a car carrying several young people with their eyes enlarged, adding: “Your eyes will give you away.”
Young men aged between 17 and 29 are thought to be most likely to drive while on illegal drugs. Indeed, a recent survey in Scotland suggested that 81% of clubbers have driven whilst under the influence of illegal drugs.
The Department for Transport (DfT) estimates that as many as one in five drivers or motorcyclists killed in road accidents may have an impairing drug (legal or illegal) in their system. Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said in a recent interview, “Whatever one’s views on drug taking, we’ve got to make it absolutely socially unacceptable to drive while under the influence of drugs, because it can kill.”
A shocking new video has been made for school pupils in an attempt to reduce crashes caused by drivers texting whilst driving.
The short 30-minute film called ‘COW’ shows Cassie Cowan, a teenage girl, killing four people as a result of her using her mobile phone to send a text. A clip from the film is shown below…
It includes footage of all the emergency services attending the crash scene, including the air ambulance, police and firefighters.
Natalie Brennan, an Oldham CID Detective Constable was convicted of drink driving in March after being caught driving three times over the legal drink drive limit last October.As well as receiving a fine of £120 and a driving ban of 9 months, she was forced to resign from the Police force following a disciplinary hearing.
However, a week later she was reinstated after Greater Manchester Chief Constable Peter Fahy reviewed the case. ‘Exceptional personal circumstances’ has been given as the reason for her reinstatement.
The decision has caused outrage amongst road safety campaigners. A spokesperson from Roadpeace accused the Chief Constable of “sending out the wrong message”, whist a spokeswoman from Brake commented: “The police have got some explaining to do if one day a driving offence is deemed dangerous enough for a person to resign and the next day it is not.”
Following the recent publication of the results of the DSA’s Learning to Drive Consultation comes the Government’s latest document seeking views on the vision, targets and measures for improving road safety in Great Britain beyond 2010.
“Making Britain’s Roads Safer” is the title of the consultation document, and we would urge you all to get involved and make your opinions known. The full document and related research articles can be found here. The closing date for this consultation is 14th July 2009.
The key challenges for the new strategy are as follows:
reducing the number of road deaths, which have fallen at a slower rate than serious injuries;
pedestrian and cyclist casualties in our towns and cities – particularly in deprived communities;
Following on from Friday’s blog entry about the dangers of hands-free mobile phone use, I came across an interesting article this evening by Faye Sunderland of contracthireandleasing.com.
“Seven out of ten drivers have driven dangerously because they were making phone calls, sending texts or fiddling with the radio – with some admitting to having actually caused an accident as a result, research by car insurance compant, Swiftcover reveals. Although mobile phones and in-car entertainment systems are big causes of dangerous driving, smoking, personal grooming and using a sat-nav system have all been cited as distractions – while 4 per cent of motorists admit they have driven while watching a movie!”
Natalie Brennan, an Oldham CID Detective Constable was convicted of drink driving in March after being caught driving three times over the legal drink drive limit last October.
Following on from Friday’s blog entry about the dangers of hands-free mobile phone use, I came across an interesting article this evening by Faye Sunderland of contracthireandleasing.com.
