WCBF 2010 exhib invite.pdf (1.04 mb)

Come and visit us next week on the 1st July 2010 at the Floral Pavillion, New Brighton. 

We always have sweets! Check out the link above for more details.  See you there 

Another Event from Brake

This annual event holds the record for being the largest of its kind and we're hoping to make the 2010 event even bigger. Visit www.brake.org.uk/walkingbus for further information.

The Sussex Safer Roads Partnership has come up with a new way of getting people to belt up! 

I personally think this is a great thought provoking road safety advert which should be shown to all people learning to drive and well as experienced drivers who do not think it will happen to them.  The You Tube film is entitled Embrace Life and you can see it by clicking this link.  http://www.embracethis.co.uk/ 

Well done Sussex Safer Roads

On 12^th March, ten prisoners and four staff at Altcourse prison, Liverpool, took part in a 20m Triathlon to raise money for RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims.

As well as some of the inmates, Phil Nolan, the assistant prison director, Martin Earl, the chaplain, (who lost his brother in a car crash) and staff member Colin Smith, also took part. Martin ended up doing an extra three and a half miles because he thought his bike was set to kilometres and it was actually miles! He was still smiling in the afternoon. Robbi Biddulph, a driving instructor at Insight 2 Drive, who is also the fitness instructor at the prison, organised the event (and was up until midnight the night before printing and ironing T-shirts).

The lads split between the various machines in the gym; running, cycling and rowing and their times were logged to see who was fastest. A huge ghetto blaster was pumping out some deafening, heavy bass, dance music to psych them up and keep them going. They put themselves through a lot of physical effort and pain having already endured a long period of training. All of this despite several of them still suffering serious injuries from their collisions.

David Midmer of RoadPeace witnessed the event and had the opportunity to talk individually to some of the guys.  He said “It's great to meet people who are so intense about what they are doing and determined to work hard for a good cause. It’s also very interesting to discover the backgrounds to their stories.” The original idea sprang from inmate Robert who lost a family member in a road crash. He wanted to raise some money for a charity as part of his redemption. He got talking with Daniel who is suffering terrible remorse after killing someone very close to him in a collision. They decided it should be a charity associated with road crash victims.

David, sole proprietor of GOLD STAR professional driving instruction and co founder of Wirral’s newly formed ATLAS driving group works with Kathy Higgins, the founder of Insight 2 Drive, Merseyside. Both are involved in running speed awareness courses for Merseyside police. David said “Kathy knew that my twenty-two year old son, Nathan, had been run over and killed at Christmas 2000 and that I worked as a volunteer with RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims.”. Kathy introduced David to Robbi and on 25th February, David visited the prison to talk to the inmates about the work of RoadPeace. This was followed by a very frank interactive session of questions and answers.

RoadPeace was founded in 1992 and receives no statutory or government support. This means it can remain independent when advising on matters of road safety. RoadPeace, therefore, relies totally on the generosity of, mainly, the very people who have suffered road trauma to support its work, so any opportunity such as this is of immense value.

Although RoadPeace welcomes the money (around £1,500 so far (but don't let that stop you donating!), for David the most important things are; firstly, the way these men are putting something positive back into society by their actions but secondly and, overwhelmingly, they are sending out a powerful message to the general public to see what are the consequences of their actions and not to emulate them.

“When someone dies in a road traffic crash everybody loses. The victims obviously, who lose their lives and what was ahead of them, or are seriously injured so that their lives will never be as full and happy as they should be. The victims' families who suffer as they lose a loved one, and the financial burdens which restrict what they can do, emotional problems and so on. Some families have to cope with caring for relatives with terrible physical or brain injuries. Then, of course, the prisoners and their families also miss out on what they should be doing.”

David is looking forward to going back into the prison to meet the lads again and to present them with certificates in recognition of their achievements. RoadPeace wish to thank everyone involved greatly for their dedication, effort and pain. Robbi has worked tirelessly to organise, train, motivate and inspire everyone concerned. Robert has some very intelligent and creative ideas to put out these messages and Daniel desperately wants to tell his story to stop others making the same mistakes. David will do his best to help them achieve their vision.

To everyone who has already made donations, RoadPeace are extremely grateful for your generosity. To those who are about to do so, an equally big thank you. If you’re not sure why you should support RoadPeace, bear in mind that we all have a 1 in 75 chance of losing someone close to us in a road collision. If you experience that tragedy, RoadPeace will be here to support you emotionally and practically. Remember, RoadPeace receives no statutory government funding. Please help if you are able and pass this information to as many people, firms and companies, etc, as you can. We are always looking for sponsorship.

Hello Everyone,

Just one day to go before the prisoners at Altcourse burst their guts out doing the Triathlon in support of RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims. We’ve had lots of generous donations, so many thanks to all those who’ve contributed. Some of you promised to donate but haven’t coughed up yet, so please try to find the time and will to do so. We need your help.

I’ll be going in to the prison during the day to see how the athletes are coping and encourage them to really go for it.

You can make your pledge by going to

www.justgiving.com/RoadPeace-Altcourse-Triathlon

Please remember, if you are a UK tax payer use gift aid. This turns every £10 you give into nearly £12 for RoadPeace.

If you prefer to pay by cheque please make it payable to RoadPeace, write  Altcourse on the back or within an accompanying letter and send it to

RoadPeace, Shakespeare Business Centre, 245a Cold Harbour Lane, Brixton, London, SW9 8RR, United Kingdom

Or telephone 020 7733 1603 for other payment options.

To find out more about RoadPeace go to our website

www.roadpeace.org.uk

Thanking you in advance for your generosity (no amount is too small and no amount is too large).

Best wishes,

David Midmer

Hello everyone,

I am going into Altcourse Prison in Liverpool on Thursday 25^th February.

Don’t worry – I haven’t done anything wrong! I’m going to talk to a number of the prisoners, mainly incarcerated for driving offences including causing death by dangerous driving, about my involvement with RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims and the work we do.

Following this, I shall be interviewed on the prison radio station, very likely on BBC Radio Merseyside, possibly Radio City, hopefully, some other stations and, with a bit of luck, some press and TV coverage. We are hoping we could get some national publicity.

All this is leading up to these inmates undertaking a Triathlon, on 12th March, to raise funds for RoadPeace. There will be two teams competing against each other. One will be led by their fitness instructor, Robbi Biddulph; the other by the chaplain, Martin Earl, who lost his brother in a road crash. In so doing, they are exhibiting remorse for their actions, attempting to redeem themselves by helping victims of similar crimes and, most importantly, sending a clear message not to drive as they did. I have, for many years, sought an opportunity for serious driving offenders to do something like this and finally it is here.

Each of us has a 1 in 75 chance of losing a family member in a road collision. My son, Nathan, was run over and killed at Christmas 2000. I hope none of you experience the same pain. Unfortunately, in the UK, seven families do every day. That is when they need the emotional and practical support RoadPeace provides. When you suffer a sudden, unexpected and violent bereavement you need someone who can be a listening ear, a guide through the paperwork and legalities, a companion to an inquest or trial, and much more. The volunteer befrienders of RoadPeace can provide this service because we've all been through something similar and can truly empathise with what is required. RoadPeace's campaigning for greater road safety is partly responsible for the fact that we've now got road fatalities and injuries down to the current level. Not that we're satisfied with those figures.

RoadPeace receives no government support, even though we often assist with their decision making processes. Most of the money that helps to run our office, website and helpline comes from the families who've suffered road trauma, with a little sponsorship from a few firms around the country.

So, now comes the bit where I ask for money.

The prisoners, fellow inmates, their families and guards will be sponsoring the competitors. The prison director has promised £250 to start us off.

If any of you would be so generous as to sponsor the prisoners in their efforts to raise funds for RoadPeace we would all be most grateful for your kindness. Even better, if you could tell as many people as you can, to help generate even more in the coffers, that would be brilliant.

Thanking you in advance for your generosity (no amount is too small and no amount is too large). Please help make this unique event even more memorable by helping us to raise an astonishing amount of cash.

You can make your pledge by going to

www.justgiving.com/RoadPeace-Altcourse-Triathlon

Please remember, if you are a UK tax payer use gift aid. This turns every £10 you give into nearly £12 for RoadPeace.

Best wishes and many thanks,

David Midmer

New research on the benefits of young driver education programmes used in Australia reduces the risk of a crash by this group by 44%.

The programme moves to strategies on how to avoid risky situations not just learning about road risks. Australia’s largest study of young drivers the DRIVE involved over 20,000 young drivers. Motor vehicle crashes are the single leading cause of death for young people in Australia, research from

The George Institute assessed the impact of the Reduce Risk Increase Student Knowledge (RRISK).Drivers who attended the RRISK programme had a 44% less chance of being involved in a crash. The programme is aimed at producing safe behaviours, for example managing pressure from peers, planning a safe return from parties and generally making informed decisions about road safety.

For much more information see the web site http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20091210-19978.html

Over 70 highway improvements at accident hotspots have helped cut the death and serious injuries by 8% in Nottinghamshire.

It has been done by a mixture of the 3 E's, Education, Enforcement and Engineering.  This has save 58 lives in 2008 compared with 2007.

The Great news is that the number of children killed on Notts roads fell by 18% yet the national average increased by 2%. Education included tackling issues relating to pedestrian and in car safety give to pre-driver groups in secondary schools.  However it is now up to the parents to reinforce safe behavior using the roads, either on foot, cycling, biking or in car.

So well done Notts.

Middlesbrough College has been performing a play based on a horrific real-life story. 

Middlesbrough Council's Road Safety Team got hundreds of students, some who are learning to drive and some who are newly qualified driver, the see the play called Pills, Thrills and Automobiles performed by the Ape Theatre Group.

The play is a documentary of four 18-year-olds who, after a weekend of drugs and sleep deprivation at a music festival, crashed in 1997. This caused the death of 2 of them. If a person is convicted of drug driving, the penalties include a minimum one-year driving ban, a fine of up to £5,000 and up to six months in prison.  

Remember Drugs and Driving do not mix, to wait to learn the hard way, be responsible.  Drugs also include over the counter medications and prescription drugs.