A rise in the number of young people killed in road accidents in Powys has prompted a campaign to get teenage passengers to speak out when travelling with irresponsible drivers.
Mission: Fatal 4law has been launched by Powys County Council's Road Safety Unit and the campaign centres around a page on the popular social network site Facebook. The page – www.facebook.com/missionfatal4law - will provide information, help and advice on how individuals can influence the behaviour of other car occupants and ultimately help to avoid a collision.
A viral video has also been filmed using local actors and members of Llandrindod Wells Youth Centre also feature as extras. Local band The Hostages have also written and produced a song called ‘Stop, Slow Down’ specifically for this campaign.
Both the film and song will be hosted on the Facebook page.
Powys has had an increase in the number of young passengers killed or injured in recent years and the total number of car passengers injured in collisions in 2010 was almost three times higher than the number of motorcyclists injured on the county’s roads in the same year.
The Road Safety Unit created this brand new campaign as resources for this vulnerable road user group were not available.
Alyson Broome, the council’s Road Safety Project Officer, said: “The increase in the number of young passengers injured on our roads is a worrying statistic. When you get into a car as a passenger, you are handing over responsibility for your life to someone else.
“We want to show our young people here in Powys that even if they don’t drive, they still have a voice when it comes to their own safety.
“Signing up to the Facebook campaign will enable them to access a whole range of advice and suggestions on alternative ways of influencing other people’s behaviour should they not have the confidence to speak up. We hope to reduce the number of collisions involving young passengers and, in turn, our young drivers through this campaign.”
Cllr Geraint Hopkins, Cabinet Member for Road Safety, said: “I am very proud of this initiative and I very much hope it will result in a reduction in car passenger injuries and deaths.
“In creating this campaign, the Road Safety Unit has utilised the popularity of social networking and this innovative approach to education can only have a positive impact on our young road users.”
For more information visit www.facebook.com/missionfatal4law and you don’t have to be registered with Facebook to view the campaign. Alternatively contact the Road Safety Unit on 01597 826979.
