A thought-provoking road safety show attended by all S5 school pupils in the north-east of Scotland is returning for its ninth year.
Safe Drive Stay Alive is a hard-hitting stage show featuring real life testimony from members of the emergency services who regularly deal with road collisions, and from members of the public whose lives have been affected by road collisions in an extreme and profound way.
School pupils from Aberdeen City, Shire and Moray, of an age when they are becoming old enough to learn to drive, will be bussed to the Aberdeen Ballroom to see the show from Monday 4 November to Thursday 7 November.
A free evening show for the public is also held at the Beach Ballroom on Wednesday 6 November from 7.15pm.
The evening show is open to anybody to come along, see Safe Drive Stay Alive and learn more about the road safety issues affecting youngsters in the north-east of Scotland.
As well as appearances from members of the emergency services who regularly attend the traumatic scenes of road traffic collisions, the show also features testimony from a father who lost his daughter in a road traffic collision.
By combining real life testimony with an emotive film, the stage show leaves the audience with little doubt over how a mistake or lapse in concentration can change lives forever.
In the past five years 150 people have been killed in 134 road traffic collisions in Grampian, and 42 of those were aged between 17 and 25.
Chair of Aberdeenshire Community Safety Executive, William Munro, is appealing for parents, youngsters no longer at school and anybody using the north-east roads, to come along and see the show.
He said: “Safe Drive Stay Alive is primarily targeted at all S5 pupils in Grampian, to make sure that when they get behind the wheel for the first time, they are aware of the responsibility they are taking on and the issues which could affect their safety and that of their passengers.
“It is also important that parents take on that road safety message and are reinforcing it with their teenagers at home. This show is not just for youngsters, but delivers a powerful reminder to anybody using roads in the north-east of Scotland about how easy it is to get distracted or make a mistake, and what a devastating impact it can have on the lives of a whole range of people.”
David Rout, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Local Senior Officer for Aberdeenshire and Moray, said: “The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is committed to contributing to maximise casualty reduction across north east road network by working together with our partners. Safe Drive Stay Alive is an excellent example of educating our young people in keeping safe on our roads and would encourage people to attend the event”.
Exxonmobil Community Affairs Manager, Ian Hackers, said: “We are pleased to have been a sponsor of the Safe Drive Stay Alive programme in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray since its beginning in 2004. By the end of 2013 more than 180,000 young people throughout the UK will have attended an ExxonMobil-sponsored road show. We also welcome the opportunity to work closely with the various agencies involved in the safe drive partnership. Safe Drive Stay Alive presents an opportunity to make a real difference to young people as they start their driving careers.”
Safe Drive Stay Alive is a partnership between Aberdeenshire Council, Aberdeen City Council, Moray Council, Police Scotland, Scottish Ambulance Service, NHS Grampian and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The road safety show is sponsored by ExxonMobil and Petrofac.
Steve Bullock, SVP HSSEIA, Petrofac Offshore Projects & Operations said: “Petrofac is pleased to sponsor the Safe Drive Stay Alive campaign for the fifth year running. Driving safety is a big concern for our community and for Petrofac nothing is more important than safety. The live production is a unique way of engaging young people in such an important issue and we’re proud to be part of it.”
Major changes within two of the partner agencies over the last year, Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, has had no impact on the running of this year’s Safe Drive Stay Alive campaign.
For more information about the evening session, contact Kate Rigby on 01467 628439 or email kate.rigby@aberdeenshire.gov.uk, or just come along on the night.
More information on Safe Drive Stay Alive can be found on our Facebook page: Safe Drive Stay Alive (Grampian).