ON FEBRUARY 23, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for North Wales, Andy Dunbobbin, met with the GoSafe Unit within North Wales Police on an operation to help promote road safety in Denbighshire. GoSafe is the Wales Road Casualty Reduction Partnership. They are made up of 27 equal partners, including the 22 Unitary authorities in Wales, four Welsh Police Forces, and the Welsh Government. GoSafe’s overall aim is to make people safer on Welsh roads by reducing casualties and saving lives by providing education, enforcement, and engineering solutions across the roads in Wales.
After a meeting and briefing at North Wales Police Divisional HQ in St Asaph, PCC Dunbobbin and GoSafe team member, PC Steve Belgrau, were joined by colleagues from the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service (NWFRS) to talk with pupils of St Brigid’s School, Denbigh on the importance of road safety.
The students were drawn from the upper years in St Brigid’s, and the discussion included a showing of the film of Olivia’s Story by the Fire Service representatives, Firefighter Theresa Moriarty and Firefighter Marley Plant. Olivia’s Story is the tragic real-life account of a road collision caused by speeding that affected the community in 2019 when 17-year-old Olivia Alkir from Ruthin tragically lost her life. The presentation has been shown in schools across Wales over recent years as a means of educating young people about the dangers of driving recklessly. The film includes the 999 call from the scene of accident, dashcam footage, and accounts from Olivia’s friends and family. Since the loss of her life those close to Olivia continue to campaign for improved safety on the roads, such as a call for every young person’s vehicle to be fitted with a black box to monitor driving.
In addition to being shown Olivia’s Story, the students learnt about the Fatal 5, education around which is a focus of the PCC’s Police and Crime Plan on road safety. The Fatal 5 are the primary causes of death and serious injury on the road and consist of careless driving, drink and drug driving, not wearing a seatbelt, use of mobile phone while driving, and speeding.
After the talk at the school, the operation continued with a visit to a nearby road, which is a location known for speeding and a concern for residents, despite the speed limit of 20mph. While at the site, several vehicles were stopped for speeding. Depending on the severity of the speed, those speeding in such a location may be given a roadside presentation outlining the importance of adhering to the speed limit. Since the GoSafe team have started patrolling this location residents say they have noticed a reduction in vehicles speeding.
North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, Andy Dunbobbin commented: “Road safety is an essential part of my Police and Crime Plan for North Wales.
“Road safety measures protect lives and education surrounding the subject is crucial for young people to better understand how tragedies like Olivia’s Story can be prevented.
“It was a pleasure to join the Go Safe team and to see the excellent work that they, and colleagues from NWFRS are doing in schools like St Brigid’s to increase safety on our roads across North Wales.”
PC Steve Belgrau commented: “Operation Atal is focused on casualty reduction by reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on Welsh roads.
“Built around tackling the Fatal 5 – the five main contributory factors in fatal or serious collisions, Operation Atal targets not only speeding, but drink and drug driving, mobile phone use at the wheel, not wearing a seatbelt, and careless or dangerous driving.
“The operation is primarily centred around education and early intervention, with police officers and firefighters working in collaboration to carry out roadside engagement to influence driver behaviour and promote safer choices.
“If however, offences are identified such as excessive and dangerous speeds, positive roadside drug or breath tests, possession of controlled drugs, no insurance or driving without a licence for example, these are of course dealt with both robustly and with the seriousness they deserve.”
To learn more about Olivias Story, visit Oliva’s Story – Road safety – Keeping You Safe – North Wales Fire And Rescue Service
To learn more about the GoSafe unit, visit GoSafe | Wales Road Casualty Reduction Partnership
