CAMBRIDGESHIRE FIREFIGHTERS ASSIST ‘POLICE CAMERA ACTION'
| Published: 15th July 2008 20:56 |
TWO young male drivers are shown the consequences of driving dangerously on ITV1's ‘Police Camera Action' next week.
The show, focuses on boy racers, will also feature firefighters from Cambridgeshire and will be broadcast on TV screens next Monday (July 21), at 9pm on ITV1.
Entitled ‘Ultimate Boy Racers' the programme is part of a brand new series produced by Optomen and presented by Alastair Stewart and Adrian Simpson, highlighting some of the UK's worst drivers. Other programmes in the series will focus on ‘Ultimate Bad Drivers' and ‘Ultimate Car Crimes.'
The ‘Ultimate Boy Racers' programme was filmed at RAF Alconbury in April and reconstructs a fatal head-on collision in a bid to get two young male drivers thinking about the consequences of careless driving.
It features seven firefighters from Huntingdon Fire Station, who treat the drivers as they would in a real-life scenario, cutting them out of their vehicles.
The show aims to find out what makes boy racers tick and whether anything can be done to curb their behaviour.
It features the Boy Racer Boot Camp and also dramatic police footage from the archive, capturing bad driving and the horrifying consequences when the magnetism between men and motors spills illegally onto the roads.
Graham Stagg, Chief Fire Officer for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "It is a well known fact that young men are more prone to showing off in their vehicles. Unfortunately, this can very easily lead to dangerous and illegal behaviour, such as driving to excess speeds, or abusing drink and drugs while driving.
"Coupled with the relative inexperience of many young male drivers behind the wheel, this is a potentially fatal mix, which often results in serious injury and death, not only for the driver, and also his passengers or those in other vehicles involved.
In Cambridgeshire, much has been done by the fire service, together with partner agencies, such as Cambridgeshire Constabulary and Cambridgeshire County Council's Road Safety Partnership, to try and curb the speed of these
drivers.
One of the main weapons against boy racers is the ‘For My Girlfriend' campaign, which is held at secondary schools across the county each year in a bid to make boys aged 15 to 16 realise the consequences of their actions before they step behind the wheel for the first time.
The campaign is also successful, because it recognises the influence that girls have over young male drivers.
Graham Stagg continued: "Statistics show that girls face a far greater risk of death or serious injury while riding as a passenger than the young man behind the wheel.
"The girls who attend this campaign are only 15 or 16, but some are already out and about with boyfriends who have driving licences. "Girls can have quite an influence over young men, so it's important to let them know they can do something, even if they are in the passenger seat."
Other events which the fire service is involved in include:
- The MegaDrive event - currently runs in East Cambs and focuses on road safety and advice on cars for sixth form and college students
- The Waterway driving demonstration - in partnership with council road safety teams, firefighters help teach young drivers how to drive safely along roads which run alongside waterways, including rivers and water-filled ditches.
For information about safer driving and the initiatives CFRS is part of, log on to www.cambsfire.gov.uk.
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