Emergency services work together in ‘Licence to Kill’ road safety presenation

A hard-hitting road safety presentation aimed at reducing speeding and careless driving on Guernsey’s roads is being delivered to secondary school students this week.

Licence to Kill is a tri-service initiative produced by Guernsey Fire & Rescue Service, Guernsey Police and Guernsey’s Emergency Ambulance Service, which shows students the devastating consequences of speeding, drinking alcohol, not wearing a seatbelt and using mobile phones whilst driving, known as the fatal four.

The sessions are being shown to Year 11 students, who will soon be behind the wheel and it features footage of local crashes as well as interviews with victims and their families.

Emergency Ambulance Service EMT Jim Cathcart said: “Road traffic incidents can be devasting, not just for those directly involved but for families and the wider community. Everyone’s life is important and we want our roads to be safer for everyone. The messages of Licence to Kill are simple – Don’t speed, don’t drive under the influence of drink or drugs, don’t use a mobile phone or text while driving and wear a seatbelt. We hope that this presentation will have a positive impact on the next generation of young drivers and on the safety of our roads.”

Roads Policing Unit officer Mat Du Port said: “Everyone needs to take road safety seriously. Very sadly in the past couple of years we have seen that serious road traffic collisions do happen in Guernsey and the results can be life changing or fatal. Every driver has a responsibility to themselves, everyone in their car and everyone they pass to act safely. Licence to Kill is a reminder that just because they’ve passed their driving test, they aren’t suddenly able to drive at speed, or when drunk or under the influence of drugs. It is a licence to drive – not a licence to kill.”

Fire & Rescue Service Crew Commander Gavin Robins said: “The Licence to Kill message is hard-hitting because we not only want to raise awareness of the consequences of dangerous driving, but also change attitudes. We don’t want to meet any of these students the next time we attend a road traffic collision. As the first responders who attend crashes in Guernsey we know first-hand how people are affected both with the physical injuries as well as the impact they have on people’s mental health and wellbeing, so while the message of this presentation is hard hitting we are empathetic to people’s feelings and we do encourage young people to talk about the issues after the presentation.”