System Training Drive Home Road Safety Message

The importance of road safety was driven home to motor industry apprentices in Cumbria yesterday (Thursday).

Leading training provider System Training hosted an event for 30 young apprentices in Carlisle featuring practical demonstrations from police, fire and rescue and motorsport stars as part of national Road Safety Week.

Issues such as drink and drug driving, speeding and the roadworthiness of modified cars were all in the spotlight in order to support the campaign to raise awareness of safe driving by national road safety charity Brake.

Police from Cumbria Constabulary who attended to talk to the apprentices offered a timely reminder of the dangers on the road as they were almost called away from the event to attend a serious crash on the M6.  In the end they were able to stay on and offer the group advice on a wide range of road safety issues, as well as giving them a closer look at the safety features on a police car and motorcycle.

A Cumbria Fire and Rescue team gave a practical demonstration of their skills by demonstrating how they cut trapped occupants from a crashed car, while World Rally Championship co-driver Scott Martin talked the youngsters through the safety features on a rally car provided by Cockermouth-based M-Sport.

The aim of the day was to ensure the young motor vehicle apprentices understood that accidents can be avoided by taking simple measures and speed should be kept on the race track and not the road.

The event will support the training they have received from System Training and ensure that when the apprentices go into employment they will be best placed to provide advice to local motorists that can help address the issues that cause road traffic accidents.

System Training has worked closely with Cumbria Constabulary’s Collision Investigation Unit and Fire and Rescue over the past few years on training initiatives to help the emergency services better understand safety issues regarding HGVs and LGVs.  The training provider also incorporates driving techniques on its courses that help to increase road safety and fuel efficiency and help cut down on HGV-related road traffic accidents.

System Training Operations Director Tony Higgins said:
“At System Training we are striving, through our range of Apprenticeship programmes, to equip our young people with the skills they need to secure employment and to deliver a high quality of training which ultimately provides an added benefit to their employers.  With our road safety event we have achieved just that and I believe our motor vehicle apprentices may now be some of the most knowledgeable out there.  The information they have covered today will help them pass on a benefit to their customers and help improve road safety in the region.”

System Training Motor Vehicle Apprentice Scott Horn said:
“We’ve learned a lot today, from how we should all be driving safer to how cars should be well maintained to prevent accidents; and that information will be really useful when we start working.  I’ve always wanted to be a mechanic and this course is a great way for me to achieve that while still getting paid – that’s very important for students these days.”

Cumbria Constabulary Police Constable Mike Lazonby said:
“It was great to be involved with System Training and their apprentice students.  As well as investigating the cause of accidents, it’s very important for us to also try and prevent them, and that’s what today was all about.  They were a really good audience and we got our message across well; if we can prevent just one accident then it will have been a success.”

Crew Manager Frank Davidson from Cumbria Fire and Rescue said:
“The apprentice group really are the perfect target audience for our road awareness training as they fall into the 17-25 year-old bracket that are more likely to be involved in a collision.  Our presentation, backed up by the practical demonstration, was very well received and I’m sure they have all taken away some positives from today.”