A road safety campaign in Wales helps inform, educate, and influence the behaviour and attitudes of young and new drivers.
The “Safety By Choice, Not By Chance” campaign focuses on the importance of making a safe choice when behind the wheel of a vehicle and when as a passenger. The campaign aims to change the attitude and behaviour of young and new drivers towards safety on our roads and highlight that we all have a responsibility not only for our own safety but for the safety of our passengers and other road users.
We make all kinds of choices every day of our lives. We choose what to wear in the morning, what to eat for breakfast, what television programme we watch in the evening, what film to watch at the cinema, where to go for a day out…
The same is true for when we are behind the wheel of a vehicle. We choose to wear our seatbelts, comply with the legal speed limits, to not look at or use our mobile phones whilst driving. The choices we make when in control of a vehicle can and will impact our own safety as well as the safety of our passengers and others around us on the roads.
In 2020, there were a total of 764 collisions involving young drivers on Welsh roads, where sadly 22 young people lost their lives.
GoSafe’s strategic aim is to make people safer on Welsh roads by reducing casualties and saving lives. To achieve this aim, we have several tools and methods at our dispersal, with enforcement being but one avenue. Through this campaign, we aim to educate young drivers at the very start of their driving careers and influence them to make their safety by choice, not by chance when travelling.
A brand-new website and a new and exciting interactive video have been created, playing a major part in educating young and new drivers about how the choices we make on the road have consequences not only for ourselves but also for other road users around us.
The video will take the viewer on a journey, making everyday choices as they go along. Choices we wouldn’t normally think about doing. The journey will come to an end where a simple choice is taken away from the viewer. The choice is stolen away by the chance another road user takes with the safety of all road users.
Teresa Ciano, GoSafe Partnership Manager said: “Road casualties and fatalities cause devastating consequences; not only on those involved in the collision, but also on the wider circle of family and friends. The causation factors of these collisions are often the result of bad and unsafe choices. If everyone chose to drive safely, to make safety a choice not a chance, then we could see less tragedy on our roads.
The ‘Safety By Choice, Not By Chance’ campaign aims to raise awareness of the part we all have to play in making our roads safer for everyone.”
Visit www.gosafe.org to find out more about this campaign.
