A hard-hitting road safety initiative aimed at S5 pupils in Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen and Moray took place in November to drive home the dangers of driving.

5,500 people attended the Safe Drive Stay Alive event which is organised by the Aberdeenshire Community Safety Partnership. This is the fourth year the graphic show has been staged in the north-east and it has left a lasting impression with previous audiences describing it as "haunting".

The four-day event took place at the Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen on Tuesday, November 4 and ran until Friday, November 7 with an evening session open to the public on Thursday, November 6.

Groups of pupils from across the north-east experienced a chilling ride as a re-enactment of a crash involving a group of young people is shown.

The film was spattered with talks from people affected by such incidents - emergency services, victims and the bereaved - they spoke openly about their feelings, experiences and life afterwards.

Dr Roland Armes of NHS Grampian is a member of the Safe Drive Stay Alive cast and said:

"All too often my colleagues in the emergency department and I deal with the physical and emotional damage inflicted on young people and their families as a consequence of bad driving.

"By illustrating this to our audience, we hope to impress upon them the importance of driving safely.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to deliver this hard-hitting message alongside colleagues from the emergency services."

All members of the community safety partnership were heavily involved in organising the event with collective experiences used to inform the project.

In particular, there is close co-operation and participation by Aberdeenshire Council, Grampian Police, Grampian Fire and Rescue Service, Scottish Ambulance Service, NHS Grampian and Aberdeen City and Moray Councils.

Grampian covers a huge area with thousands of miles of rural roads and increasing traffic levels. This means that there are a high number of collisions and casualties.

37 people died last year on Grampian's roads, 14 of those were aged 24 and under and 233 were seriously injured. The Safe Drive initiative aims to reduce these figures and increase this age group's awareness of the dangers that exist on roads throughout the north-east.

William Munro, chairman of the Aberdeenshire Community Safety Partnership, said:

"The feedback we received was very encouraging and many parents and children felt that the performance really made them stop and think

"The recent fatalities involving schoolchildren alighting from buses also portrays the importance of educating our young people to the importance of road safety.

"Too many young lives are being lost on our roads and if this initiative can make people stop and think about their driving and save just one life then it will have made our efforts worthwhile.

"The commitment of the cast in delivering such a hard-hitting performance - when many will have been involved in accidents themselves - is to be commended. We are also thankful for the support of ExxonMobil and the Stewart Milne Group."

Ally Birkett, head of community safety at Grampian Fire and Rescue Service, said:

"Safe Drive Stay Alive aims to educate the young people of Grampian in road safety as they approach driving age.

"It is one of a number of initiatives that the service is involved in as we work closely with partners to reduce the number of persons being killed and seriously injured on our roads.

"The Safe Drive Stay Alive show is extremely hard hitting. The reality and consequences of road traffic collisions, their impact on families, friends and those who have to deal with the aftermath is conveyed in a very powerful manner."

Quite often the Ambulance Service is the first to reach a road accident and Allan Reid, head of accident and emergency services for the north-east division of the Scottish Ambulance Service added:

"We see the raw edge of accidents and Safe Drive Stay Alive will show the young people just some of the shocking scenes that face the emergency services at the front line.

"Accidents are too frequent on the roads in north-east and the devastation it causes friends and families of victims is heart wrenching. Any initiative that works to reduce this should be fully supported."

Zandra Holden, Grampian Police Superintendent of Operational Support, concluded:

"This event was initiated to alert those approaching driving age of the potential dangers on Grampian's roads.

"The Safe Drive Stay Alive message stems from the strong beliefs and commitment of the emergency services and local authorities to prevent road collisions in the north-east of Scotland.

"This is the fourth time this event has been held and it comes at a time when we have recently witnessed some heartbreaking fatalities.

"This makes the focus on the messages contained in the event even more poignant as we strive further to persuade young people to take care on our roads.

"Safe Drive Stay Alive is part of a range of strategies Grampian Police is involved in, working with the community to reduce the number of casualties and deaths on our roads caused by bad driving."

More information on Safe Drive Stay Alive can be found at www.safedrivestayalive.org

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