The Young Farmers Clubs (YFC) in Pembrokeshire are launching a campaign throughout their clubs in an attempt to engage with Young Farmers to slow down when they drive along country roads in Wales – and to help save lives.
Run by GoSafe – the Wales Road Casualty Reduction Partnership, the Deadly Mates campaign aims to educate young people about the dangers and consequences of poor driving and the importance of peer pressure in getting young motorists to drive carefully and slow down.
The Pembrokeshire YFC will be promoting the Deadly Mates campaign throughout their clubs, supplying leaflets to young drivers and linking in with the Fire Service to hold young driver focus groups.
Dill Williams of Pembrokeshire Young Farmers’ Clubs said “the initiative would be of benefit to members of all ages but was particularly relevant to young people in rural areas who rely so much on their cars to get round. Anything that helps to keep the members safe is to be welcomed and we fully support this project and look forward to working in partnership with GoSafe in promoting the Deadly Mates campaign,” she said.
Jeremy Trew, Community Safety Manager, Pembrokeshire Command, Mid & West Wales Fire and Rescue Service. “Statistics showing that young people are at high risk of having an accident only confirms every fire fighters experience. We attend many incidents involving young people, each of which has a consequence for the casualties involved and their families and friends so we are committed to reducing the accident rate. We are delighted to be involved with GoSafe and be able to bring the Deadly Mates campaign to young people through the Young Farmers clubs. This is an ideal way for us to meet our target age group with a fresh new approach.”
Teresa Healy, Business Manager & Senior Analyst of GoSafe - the Wales Road Casualty Reduction Partnership, added: “We devised Deadly Mates after a report revealed that a certain group of young drivers aged 17-24 were unlikely to be affected by shock tactics in some road safety campaigns. Instead, Deadly Mates looks to change their behaviour by targeting peers to encourage these drivers to slow down. The message is simple - if you have a friend that drives too fast, they can take your future away from you in a second. “
“In Wales, between 2008-2010, 1155 young people aged between 17 and 24 were involved in fatal or serious accidents. We hope with the support of the Pembrokeshire Young Farmers Clubs in distributing our ‘Ten Ways to Lose Your License ‘leaflets and posters, we can continue to raise awareness of the risks of reckless driving and peer distraction and directly help reduce the number of accidents and deaths of young people on Welsh roads.”
Deadly Mates is funded and managed by the Wales Road Casualty Reduction Partnership and supported by the Welsh Government, four Welsh police forces, 22 local authorities, HMCS and the emergency services.
For further information on the campaign please visit www.gosafe.org and its sister site www.deadlymates.com.
ENDS