Shropshire Star

Fatal crashes can be prevented say Shropshire firefighters

Fire fighters who cut people from the wreckage of accidents say drivers must change their ways to prevent more fatalities.

Published

Crews yesterday demonstrated how they free some of the hundreds of people trapped after road traffic collisions across the county.

There were 20 deaths, 135 serious injuries and 999 slight injuries after crashes across the whole of Shropshire last year.

These included 18 deaths, 101 serious injuries and 694 slight injuries in the Shropshire Council area, and two deaths, 34 serious injuries and 305 slight injuries in Telford and Wrekin.

But Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service these could have been avoided with simple measures.

The car cutting demonstration, at Jarvis Metals scrapyard in Shrewsbury, was put on ahead of Road Safety Week, which runs from Monday to Sunday.

The scrapped vehicles, donated by scrapyard owner Mike Jarvis, are a vital training tool which help to save lives, say firefighters.

Firefighters James Braithwaite and Olly Dreghorn get to work on the car with hydraulic cutters

According to the Department for Transport, 1,713 people died in road crashes in the UK in 2013 – the lowest death rate since records began.

But another 21,657 people were seriously injured and 160,300 suffered slight injuries.

Around 400 people a year are killed in crashes in which someone exceeds the speed limit or drives too fast for the conditions.

Road deaths in the UK have halved since 2000, from 3,409 to 1,713 last year, but firefighters say there is still more that can be done to bring the numbers down further.

White Watch Manager Chris White said the way people behaved contributed to road death statistics.

"We want to remind people about the dangers of allowing children to stand during car journeys and drivers being distracted by mobile phones or music.

"Speeding, driving through red lights, not wearing seatbelts and not driving to the conditions are extremely dangerous.

"We want to remind people to observe national speed limits and drive to the conditions and beware of distractions. Do not use a mobile phone while driving and do not be tempted to drive under the influence of drink or drugs. Children should be suitably restrained in a car seat appropriate to their age and weight."

In response to the high number of young people involved in road accidents, Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service runs a free driver training scheme with the county branch of the Institute of Advanced Motorists.

Proprietor of Jarvis Metals, Shrewsbury, Michael Jarvis, and firefighters Will Hughes and James Braithwaite

The 17 to 25-year-olds go out with a trained observer and take the advanced driving test.

Mr White praised Mr Jarvis for supplying the fire service with scrapped cars at his yard in Ennerdale Road, Harlescott to test life saving techniques and equipment in realistic scenarios.

He said: "It is facilities such as this that enable Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service to strive to impact upon the number of casualties injured and killed on Shropshire's roads.

"This valuable service utilises end of life vehicles which are due to be recycled for their scrap value.

"The donor vehicles are first environmentally processed, then smashed and placed into position using the site's giant grab, simulating the kind of severe impacts that can occur on the county's roads.

"This process enables the Fire Service to test their techniques and equipment against a huge range of challenging and realistic scenarios."

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.