Here is the pre-watershed version:

Road Safety Minister Paul Clark said, “If you are involved in an accident while not wearing a seat belt then your body experiences a series of three collisions damaging vital internal organs.  This campaign reminds drivers that – no matter how short their journey or how slowly they are driving – they are risking their life if they set off without putting their seat belt on.

“I hope this campaign will help everyone realise that they need to belt up every time they get in a car.”

With recent research showing that drivers are less likely to belt up on low speed, short journeys on familiar roads, the £1.3 million THINK! Campaign hopes to show that drivers are still risking their lives.  Drivers are twice as likely to die in a crash if they do not wear a seat belt and if everyone belted up, one life a day could be saved.

The full advert can only be aired after 9pm due to its graphic content.

Photo: Ford

Car manufacturer Ford is introducing innovative new seatbelts that inflate like airbags to give extra protection to passengers in the event of a collision.

Ford is fitting the back seats of vehicles with belts that inflate automatically during a crash.

Ford will be fitting the new seatbelts into the new Ford Explorer 4 x 4 which goes into production in 2010.  Experts say the new technology will be particularly effective at preventing broken ribs, internal damage and bruising.

Inflating over the shoulder and torso in a mere 40 milliseconds, a cylindrical airbag stretches from the buckle to the shoulder and fits inside a pocket in the belt.

Sensors calculate the severity of a crash impact and inflate the belts with compressed gas, stored below the seat.  The airbag breaks through the fabric of the belt and spreads the force of the impact over an area five times larger than a traditional belt.  The seatbelt helps to keep the passenger in the safest seating position and reduces pressure on the chest as well as controlling head and neck movement.

Vice-president of safety engineering at Ford, Sue Cischke said, ‘Ford’s rear inflatable seatbelt technology will enhance safety for rear seat passengers of all ages, especially for young children who are more vulnerable in crashes.’

The inflatable belts work like conventional seatbelts and are safe for everyday use along with a child seat or booster seat.

In testing, more than 90 per cent of people said they were similar to or more comfortable than traditional belts.

The Liverpool Daily Post reported that between April and September this year, police gave out tickets to more than 20,000 drivers for using handheld mobiles while in charge of their vehicles.

Even a driving instructor was among those hit with an £60 penalty and three points on their licence. The driving instructor was teaching a learner driver at the time!

Merseyside Police warned that the number of killed or seriously injured on the road could potentially increase unless they enforced the law. The cause of accidents while driving is not recorded, so there is no available data for how many people may have perished on UK roads because of mobile use.

Police authority members and city leaders said the number of offenders caught represented just “the tip of the iceberg” and suggested the true number of drivers putting lives at risk was much higher. In fact, the problem is so great, the force’s central ticket office is “operating at maximum capacity due to the high level of enforcement”.

Figures show that between April last year and March this year, 14,386 people were caught using a handheld while driving, that’s around one in every 100 people in Merseyside.

Merseyside Police Chief Inspector, Chris Markey said: “Using a mobile phone while driving makes you four times more likely to crash so I am sure the public will understand why we are so determined to stop people from doing so.

“The number of fixed-penalty notices issued last year to motorists committing this type of offence showed this is a top priority for the force and we will continue to crack down on this problem. They are not only risking their safety, but the safety of innocent motorists and pedestrians.

“However, like drink driving was years ago, using a mobile phone at the wheel – despite clearly being dangerous and illegal – is still viewed by some people as acceptable.”

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).

Using a mobile phone at the wheel has been an offence in the UK since 2006 and although people are aware of the laws, many, it seems, still ignore the dangers of texting whilst driving.

The dramatic film, nicknamed ‘COW’, graphically highlights the consequences of texting at the wheel as it follows fictional schoolgirl girl Cassie Cowan. Losing concentration behind the wheel while she texts, she and her mates are involved in a horrific crash.

COW is hard hitting, brutal and extremely graphic, which has already caused lots of controversy.

Director Peter Watkins-Hughes has defended the film’s violence: “Yes it is violent, but the reality of a fatal road accident is much more gruesome.  If you’re old enough to drive, you’re old enough to be aware of the real and serious risks one places oneself in every time you get behind the wheel.”

A four minute clip from the film has been viewed by millions of viewers on YouTube, gaining global attention.

Chief constable of Gwent Police, Mick Giannasi has said he is astonished and encouraged by the way the film has spread, and has received calls and emails from people from across the world saying how moved they were by the film.

“Young people think they can text in autopilot because they do it so instinctively,” he said.

“For that reason we need to use strong imagery to make them to sit up and take notice.”

Recently, RAC Foundation research found that reaction times slowed by 35% when 17 to 24-year-olds drove while reading and writing text messages. The research also showed that texting while driving impairs motorists more than being under the influence of drink or drugs while driving.  Sadly, the research also found that nearly 50% of drivers aged between 18 and 24 text while driving.

‘Cow’will be shown on BBC Two Wales on Monday 2 November at 2200 GMT.

We welcome your comments on the film.

Following a change in the law regarding the display of car tax discs, there is now a 5 day period of grace given to vehicle owners to allow them to buy their tax discs online, providing they have applied for a new disc before the old one expires.

Colin Maddock, Head of DSA Chief Executive’s Private Office confirms that “examiners have been given an instruction to take a driving test on any vehicle if the tax disc is up to five days out of date.  They will not ask to see proof that a tax disc has been ordered online”.

They found that more than 20% of 17 to 20 year olds are not covered by a valid car insurance policy, which amounts to a staggering 243,000 illegal young drivers on our roads.

Many illegal drivers cite the huge cost of an insurance policy as being the reason for not having cover.  Yet the risks of not having a policy are huge, not just for themselves, but also for anybody they may be unfortunate enough to crash into.

The BBC reports the story of 21 year old Gary Street, who was hit by an uninsured driver at 30mph in Manchester two years ago.

“I was travelling through Manchester City Centre on my way to work when a car hit me from behind as I was stationary,” he said.

“I was sent off into the other side of the road, the airbags went off, the seat belts imploded. The car was in quite a state to be honest.”

Gary was left with neck and back injuries, and was in quite a lot of pain and out of action for over a month as a result of the crash.

But as the other driver had no insurance, Gary was left to foot the bill.  He said: “I had no other option but to claim on my own insurance which came to a cost of £900 excess.

“I lost my no claims bonus and obviously it’s costing me more now to insure my car.”

Whilst out on patrol, Police use ANPR technology (automatic number plate recognition) to scan hundreds of car registrations every few minutes.  The system is able to instantly check if a vehicle has a current valid MoT certificate, tax disc and whether the driver has insurance.

The BBC interviewed Chief Inspector Richard Joyce from Surrey Police, who recently carried out a joint operation with police officers from Kent and Sussex on the M25.

He said: “We have the power to stop, question, and in some cases, arrest drivers without insurance.  The consequences for them can be anything from a fine, to points on their licence to having their car scrapped.”

New drivers should be aware that, for the first two years of passing their driving test they are subject to a probationary period, during which they will automatically lose their full driving licence if they accumulate 6 points or more.  Their licence is revoked and they must apply for a provisional licence and pass both the theory and practical tests again before obtaining another full driving licence.  And the number of penalty points given for driving without insurance?  6 points – therefore instant disqualification.

22 year old Sam, from Kent, was caught driving without insurance when he was 18.  He said, “I was driving without insurance because basically I couldn’t afford it, the cost was too high.

“I knew I should have had it but I also knew I was a good driver and I was safe.”

Sadly, this is the view of many young drivers – they suffer from the “it’ll never happen to me” syndrome.  The Chief Executive of the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), Ashton West says that the high cost of covering young drivers is not just about what car they drive.  In fact, it is usually down to the risk the driver poses on the roads.

“Young drivers statistically are a bad risk. They are many times more likely to have an accident.”

With so many young drivers on the roads illegally without cover, insurance companies, the police and motorists all say something needs to be done to tackle the problem.

Gary thinks he has the answer: “If insurance wasn’t so expensive for young drivers, it would encourage people to actually have the insurance.

“Then if you didn’t have the insurance I think the consequences of the law should be a lot tougher.”

Source:  BBC Newsbeat

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.”

Police currently use a Field Impairment Test (FIT), which can include asking the driver to close their eyes and estimate when 30 seconds have passed.  Drugs impair the body’s internal clock so drug users tend to be very inaccurate.  Other tests include standing on one leg, touching your nose with the tip of your finger and walking heel-to-toe whilst counting the steps out loud.

Police officers can take a suspect to a police station to perform blood and urine tests to confirm their suspicions.

France and Germany have a zero tolerance approach to driving and drugs – driving does not have to be impaired, simply having illegal drugs in one’s system when driving is an offence.  Roadside saliva tests are used to check for the presence of drugs.

Brake, the Road safety charity, has welcomed the £2.3m campaign but has called on ministers to approve a breathalyser-style drug-testing device.   However, there is not yet a roadside testing device that can detect the wide range of drugs that drivers may have taken.  Cathy Keeler, deputy chief executive of Brake said, “The government has been dragging its heels on approving a roadside testing device even though police in countries like Germany are already using saliva wipes to catch lots of drug drivers.

“There are already some devices out there that can identify some of the most common drugs people take and there’s really no reason for the government to wait for some perfect device to detect all of them.”

Anyone caught drug-driving currently faces the same fate as those caught drink-driving: a minimum one year driving ban, up to six months in prison and a £5,000 fine.

Examples of the effects various illegal drugs can have include:

Cannabis - distorts a driver’s perception of time and distance so other vehicles seem closer than they really are.  Cannabis users often struggle to do two things at once, like changing gear and steering.

Cocaine - causes feelings of over-confidence which leads to aggressive, risky driving at high speeds.

Amphetamines (e.g. speed) – impair coordination and make drivers less likely to react to potential hazards.

Ecstasy - causes blurred vision and poor judgement.  Use may also lead to extreme anxiety and paranoia.

The television advert released last week focuses on illegal drugs, but other aspects of the campaign in print and on the internet will also address the issues surrounding legal prescription drugs, which can also be very dangerous when driving.  The rule with these is to ‘always read the label or ask a doctor or pharmacist’.  At this time of year, antihistamines used in hay fever remedies often cause drowsiness and reduce reaction times.  Anti-depressants and tranquillisers are also potentially risky.  Some ‘over the counter’ remedies such as those for colds an flu can also have unwanted effects.

Viewers of the campaign have given a mixed response – these are just two examples found on the BBC forums:

“Once again more money wasted attempting to prevent the impossible. Most accidents are caused by people not paying attention to what they are doing, or worse, not caring what they are doing. DD of both kinds (Drunk and Drugs) cause a small percentage of the 3000 deaths a year on the roads in this country.

To decide whether or not nick someone based on pupil dilation is ridiculous!!”

“Drink and drugs are clearly not good starting points for anyone driving. But if the object is to save lives on the road surely we should be improving the standards of driving among those that cause between 80 and 90% of the accidents. Which is to say the drug and drink free majority.”

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.

Filmed in Wales in a joint venture between filmmaker Peter Watkins-Hughes and Gwent emergency services, Police said it hoped the graphic video would be shown in schools around Wales and hopefully the rest of the UK, in a bid to prevent future crashes caused by ALL drivers, but particularly young and new ones.

Lyn Samuel, Gwent Police’s school liaison coordinator, said the film was a “very impactive road safety educational tool to help reduce the number of collisions involving young drivers across Wales”.

Chief Inspector John Pavett from Gwent Police Roads Policing Unit hopes the serious message in this film will hit home to viewers:

“Making and receiving calls and texting whilst driving is still happening on roads not just in Gwent but all over the country.  Seeing a scenario, like the one Cassie goes through, played out right before your eyes makes you realise how extremely dangerous it can be and what devastating consequences it can have.

“I hope that after watching this film motorists will think twice before picking up their mobile phone when behind the wheel and realise that a quick reply to a text message or answering a phone call is never worth putting theirs and other people’s lives at risk.”

A second clip from the film shows two relatives of the crash victims meeting at the hospital:

Recent research by the RAC Foundation showed reaction times slowed by 35% when 17 to 24-year-olds drove while reading or writing text messages.

Research last year also found that texting while driving impairs motorists more than being under the influence of drink or drugs.

The report found that almost 50% of drivers aged between 18 and 24 texted while driving.

As well as slowing reaction times, drivers who text often drifted out of lanes, had poorer steering control and the overall driving performance was poor.

Drivers currently face a £60 fine and three penalty points on their licence for using hand-held mobile phones at the wheel.

The Department for Transport noted that using a mobile phone at the wheel is considered the second most unacceptable driving behaviour among motorists with 93% agreeing that texting while driving is dangerous. However, 12% of all motorists admit to texting while driving.

Whilst online this morning, I came across this unbelivable video from CNN, showing a bus driver, driving disabled passengers in Texas, crashing into stationary traffic whilst texting:

The new radio campaign features a driver’s voice spelling out a text message followed by the harrowing sound of a car crash.  Click here to listen to it.

An online ‘driving challenge’ game is also available, which demonstrates how using a mobile at the wheel can completely distract the driver.  Try it out for yourself!

In addition, a THINK! TV advert will be returning to remind callers to ‘kill the conversation’ as soon as they realise that someone is driving.

Road Safety Minister Jim Fitzpatrick said: “It doesn’t matter how good a driver you are, if you text while driving then you cannot be giving the road your full attention.

“The message that mobile phones and driving should not mix is getting through to the majority of drivers but some people are still needlessly risking their own lives and putting others in danger for the sake of a text or a call.

“Our message to all drivers is simple: Don’t use your mobile phone when you’re driving.”

The survey found that 25.4% of black-vehicle owners have speeding convictions, and they are also 9% more likely than the average driver to have speeding endorsements on their driving licences.

The next “speediest” colour was grey, with 25.1% of grey car owners having speeding convictions, followed by silver, blue and brown.

Owners of purple-coloured cars were least likely to have been caught exceeding speed limit, while owners of white, yellow and red cars have comparatively few convictions as well.

Brian Martin, Managing Director of Elephant.co.uk’ said, “We wanted to know why it is that drivers of black and grey cars appear to have more of a propensity to speed so we looked into more detail at the cars on our books.

“We found it didn’t necessarily correlate that black and grey cars would have bigger engines, so evidently for drivers of these coloured cars, the temptation to break the speed limit is simply too great whatever their engine size.”

Interesting!