A partnership approach to road safety proved so successful in North Wales that is has now been adopted nationwide.
Two years ago North Wales Police formed an alliance with two local McDonalds restaurants to promote the Deadly Mates campaign, aimed at encouraging young drivers to act responsibly and their passengers to speak up if they felt their friends were driving dangerously.
The pilot campaign proved so successful that is has now been launched across Wales with 21 McDonalds taking part.
Superintendent Gary Ashton of North Wales Police’s Operational Support Group said; “McDonalds is a favourite with young people and many branches have a drive thru, making it an ideal location to catch the attention of our target audience – young drivers and their passengers. We were extremely grateful for the support of Mr. Phil Lowndes who helped get the campaign of the ground in North Wales and we are very pleased that it has now been adopted nationwide.
“Young drivers are more likely to be involved in road traffic collisions than anyone else. Figures also show that they are also responsible for around one in five of accidents where someone is killed or seriously injured.
“Some young drivers often believe themselves to be better drivers than they are. Unfortunately on occasions, they lack judgement, drive too fast for the road conditions and overestimate their skill. We have all seen the deadly results of bad driving and the effect is has on families of the victims.
” deadly mates poster Some young drivers are putting their own life and the lives of their friends at risk. The aim of the Deadly Mates campaign is to make young drivers and their passengers think about the real consequences of irresponsible behaviour behind the wheel.”
Jim Moore, manager of the Wales Road Casualty Reduction Partnership said “Unfortunately, far too many people are losing their lives every year in road traffic collisions in Wales, either as passengers or drivers. By linking up with McDonalds, we hope to get the message out there that poor driving can have devastating consequences for those behind the wheel and their passengers.”
