When it Rains it Kills

When it rains it kills. Slow down urge firefighters

With Christmas just a week away firefighters are urging drivers to take extra care on the roads.
Of all the seasons, winter requires the most care and preparation to stay safe. This week (Thursday 9 to Thursday 15 December) alone firefighters have been called out to 20 road traffic collisions across the county*, several of them with casualties trapped in their vehicles needing to be cut out.
Drivers should remember that in wet, snowy or icy conditions it will take longer to stop so should always drive at a speed that's appropriate for the conditions.

The Service's road safety manager Colin Heyes explains: "Of all the seasons, winter needs the most care from drivers to keep safe on the roads. Hard frosts, ice, snow and heavy rain on the roads can make driving potentially very dangerous. It can take ten times longer to stop in icy conditions than on a dry road. Drive slowly to allow extra room to slow down and stop.
" The recent campaign from Highways England is called 'Rain Kills' and that statement is a sad fact. Road traffic collisions are many times more frequent during poor weather.
"Every year we attend hundreds of road traffic collisions, rescuing drivers and their passengers and providing emergency first aid and trauma care. These incidents can be devastating not only to those involved but to their loved ones and friends. I would urge everyone to take note of our winter driving safety advice."

You can keep yourself and others safe by:

• Slowing down
• Keeping a greater distance between yourself and the vehicle in front, (increase the 2 second rule to 4 seconds or even more)
• Setting aside extra time to complete your journey
• Keep your mobile fully charged.
• On colder days be particularly careful on tree lined roads- the trees prevent the sun's warmth from reaching the road, which may still be icy when all around has thawed.
• In winter it is even more important that vehicles are well maintained and serviced. Please be prepared in case the bad weather strikes in your area of Cheshire.

Visit our road safety pages for more winter driving guides- http://www.cheshirefire.gov.uk/public-safety/road-safety/driving-in-winter.

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