Cambs Fire Service’s interactive road safety event trialled by Isle Campus students

A NEW interactive way of teaching teenagers about road safety has been trialled by more than 300 students at Wisbech’s Isle College.

Firefighters from Wisbech hosted the event at the college’s campus which was aimed at asking teenagers to think about ways they can avoid accidents on Fenland roads.

A wide-range of activities, including demonstrations about stopping distances in wet weather and using a mobile phone while driving, are hoped to help teenagers deal with the peer pressure that they may receive while driving.

In another workshop, inspired by Top Gear’s ‘Cool Wall’, firefighters asked groups of males and females to rate a variety of different driving scenarios as cool, uncool or subzero.

Martin Ockenden, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service’s lead officer for road safety, said: “Teenagers are bombarded with safety messages from all sorts of organisations, so we’ve tried to develop a more interactive approach.

“We want to engage the students and encourage them to think about the decisions they make, rather than just lecturing them on what is the right thing to do.

“This type of event is especially important in Fenland, where young drivers have to use some of the most dangerous roads in the country.

“I’d like to praise the firefighters and community safety officers who helped make this event possible, and thank the staff and students at Isle College for taking part.”