Motorists in Newtown have the opportunity to become safer road users thanks to a number of road safety initiatives.
Powys County Council’s Road Safety Unit has announced several activities to help, including Pass Plus Cymru, Driver Theory Refresher, Mature Motoring, Ride On and Biker Down.
Pass Plus Cymru is a young drivers scheme available to all 17-25 year olds, consisting of a two-and-a-half theory session and a nine-hour paired practical session. The course, which costs just £20, also covers motorway and city driving and may help to reduce insurance costs by making you a safer driver. Full details can be found at www.dragondriver.com
Drive On is a free one-hour driving assessment, which is provided for all residents aged 65 years and over. The assessment is completely confidential and is designed to enable participants to continue driving with more confidence and safety.
The mature driving classroom based session, called Driver Theory Refresher is also available to residents aged 65 years and over and covers topics such as night-time driving, how medication affects you and personal safety behind the wheel.
As well as providing initiatives for drivers, the unit also provides numerous schemes for motorcyclists including location markers, the Ride On one-day advanced motorcycle courses and the Biker Down first aid course. It also provides motorcyclists with the opportunity to attend Bikesafe for free and also provides Crash Cards which may assist you in the event of a collision.
A council statement said: “Powys County Council works hard to provide education, training and publicity in an attempt to reduce the number of collisions and casualties on the county’s roads. The majority of this work is funded by the Welsh Government.”
Cllr John Brunt, Cabinet Member for Road Safety said: “Ensuring that our roads are safe for everyone is an important aim and our Road Safety Unit is at the forefront of many successful initiatives. There has been a significant amount of work carried out by the unit to cut the number of collisions and casualties in Powys.
“We are dedicated to providing road safety education and training to all Powys residents through numerous initiatives and projects. Our trained road safety officers also provide advice on all aspects of road safety including the correct fitting of child car seats, anti-drinking driving and driving for work.
“I would urge all residents to take advantage of these fantastic schemes, which really could be life-saving.”
For further information or to take part in any of the above courses, contact the Road Safety Unit by emailing road.safety@powys.gov.uk or call Bridget Farrington on 01686 611586.
