We have teamed up for the first time with THINK! to remind people of the dangers of drink driving, ahead of the Christmas party season.
Real London firefighters appear in THINK!’s new drink drive advert which shows a dramatic crash scene and highlights the events that follow, to warn the public that the dangers of drink driving are real.
The advert, which will be seen by thousands of YouTube users, is targeted at young men, who statistics show are most likely to drink and drive. It is the first time we have worked with partners on a drink drive advert to reduce the number of injuries and deaths on London’s roads.
Don't drink and drive
Last year, we attended the lowest number of road traffic collisions (RTCs) in five years, with firefighters attending 3,582 collisions or around 10 a day. At one in five RTCs, firefighters rescue somebody who is trapped.
However, the figures also show that despite the drop in the number of collisions attended, the number of people injured or killed at the incidents we attend remains high. Last year 1,386 people were injured and 38 people died, compared to the 1,242 injured and 23 people that died in incidents in 2012/13.
London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson said:
“Firefighters are often called to the worst road traffic collisions and witness first hand the devastating scenes caused by reckless drink drivers. The lives of those involved and their families can be shattered in seconds by irresponsible people that think it is acceptable to drink and drive.
“The number of collisions we are called to has fallen, but the number of people being injured or killed is still too high. As the festive party season approaches I urge Londoners to use the roads safely and to not even consider driving if they have been drinking.”
The advert comes after we declared our continued commitment to improve road safety in the capital in the Fifth London Safety Plan. We runs schemes like Safe Drive Stay Alive in boroughs where there are large numbers of road traffic collisions. The scheme educates young drivers about the dangers of careless driving and firefighters speak about their experiences of dealing with tragic road collisions.
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Notes to editors:
• A copy of London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority’s Road Safety Strategy 2013 – 2016 is available here http://moderngov.london-fire.gov.uk/mgconvert2pdf.aspx?id=2794
• Last year, we attended 3,582 RTCS down from 3,685 the year before.
• It became a statutory duty for fire and rescue services to attend road traffic collisions in 2004.