Firefighters Motorway Safety Month

Firefighters hit the highways for motorway safety month

The majority of people killed or seriously injured in motorway road traffic collisions are either in a car or motorcyclists.

Despite motorways being the safest roads to travel on, the higher speeds involved lead to more devastating consequences. In Cheshire from 2014 to 2015 there were 576 road traffic collisions on motorways with 52 of them sadly resulting in death or serious injury.
In a bid to decrease these figures Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service is working with Highways England throughout August, focusing on safety on the county's extensive motorway network.
Firefighters will be giving information and advice to drivers to highlight the dangers they face on the county's motorways and will be at the following service stations from 10am until 2pm:
M56 Hapsford Services- Monday 3rd and Tuesday 25th August
M62 Burtonwood Services- Friday 7th and Wednesday 12th August
M6 Sandbach Services- Monday 10th and Friday 21st August
M6 Knutsford Services- Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 19th August
M56 Lymm Services- Friday 28th August

The crews will be delivering key messages, such as

• Only a fool breaks the two second rule- speed and its consequences

• Hard shoulder safety- what to do if you break down on the motorway

• Don't hog the middle lane- why it's important avoid hogging the middle or outside lanes

• Tiredness kills- take a break- take a break at least every two hours

• Watch your speed- Keep your distance- consequences of driving too close to the vehicle in front including stopping distances and using an appropriate adjustment for the conditions (poor conditions, visibility)

People who are travelling on Cheshire's motorway network on the above dates will be able to engage with staff from Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and ask for information and advice.
Road Safety Manager for the Service Colin Heyes said: "A highly visible road safety presence will take place across our motorway network throughout August to highlight the dangers drivers face on our major roads and motorways.

"Our unique brand and ability to engage with all groups and ages places us in an enviable position where we can make a difference with the aim of creating safer roads for all users.

"We hope that this campaign, in which we are working with Highways England, will drive down the number of people killed on our motorway network and that a successful campaign locally will lead to a national campaign in the coming years."

John McTaggart from Highways England said: "Our traffic officers are whole heartedly behind this initiative to drive home some safety messages for motorway driving. Firefighters provide a vital service in quickly responding to incidents, freeing people from vehicles and putting out motorway fires- and through the CLEAR initiative they are key partners in helping us get drivers back on the move again after incidents happen."

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