Safe Drive, Stay Alive

Hard-hitting road safety campaign

On Surrey's roads alone, 4,730 young drivers have been involved in injury collisions in the last three years - 29 have died and eight of their passengers have been killed (Surrey County Council May 2008).

The annual Safe Drive, Stay Alive campaign targets this 'at risk' age group (ages 16 to 18) just as they are about to begin driving, to make them aware of their responsibilities on the road and to encourage them to think of the consequences of driving irresponsibly.

Spearheaded by Surrey Fire and Rescue Service, Safe Drive, Stay Alive is a hard-hitting interactive show, staged annually at Dorking Halls in Dorking, Surrey. To date (March 2009) over 38,000 people have seen the show, which features stories told by real-life, serving members of the emergency services, a parent of a young person who lost their life in a road traffic collision and from a person disabled by the actions of a young driver. These on-stage emotional accounts are interspersed with a video reconstruction, which traces the lead up to, and the aftermath of, a road traffic collision.

2010 show dates

Due to demand, two additional school performances have been scheduled for April 2010. They will take place at 10.30am and 12.30pm on Wednesday 28 April. The dates for the public showings in November will be announced in due course.More information and online booking is available at www.surrey-fire.gov.uk/safedrive Opens in a new window

Record attendance in 2009

A record 13,000 bookings were made for Safe Drive Stay Alive in 2009. Chief Fire Officer, Russell Pearson said: "This was our most successful year yet with record bookings, a new film, a new brand image and new ways of communicating with our target audience. The support from our commercial sponsors - the Highways Agency, ExxonMobil, Esure and Mercedes-Benz World - has been invaluable. Their involvement has not only secured delivery of this year's programme but also afforded us the opportunity to update the campaign, ensuring it maintains its impact with the target audience and injecting new life into the whole project.

"Whilst there's been a notable decline in the number of young drivers killed or seriously injured on Surrey's roads since 2005, the collision rate for young drivers is still too high. The improvements we've made to the show this year means we can take Safe Drive Stay Alive to new audiences such as the army and our universities, making an even bigger dent in reducing Surrey road casualty statistics".

Led by Surrey Fire and Rescue Service, and supported by Surrey Police, South East Coast Ambulance Service, Surrey County Council, the Royal Surrey Hospital and RoadPeace, the Safe Drive, Stay Alive initiative won a prestigious HRH Prince Michael of Kent International Road Safety Award in 2006, and a Surrey County Council 'Award for Excellence' in 2008.