KCC asks ‘Help Save 478 Lives’ in Road Crashes

•‘It Will Cost You In The End’ aims to save 478 killed or seriously injured people in 2007 • •KCC campaign to drive attitude changes in ‘at risk’ groups • •Falling crash numbers mean lives saved and also reduces the burden on the NHS •

Maidstone, Kent (PRWEB) October 9, 2005 -- KCC has today announced a high profile campaign entitled – “Help Save 478 Lives” - to drive a substantial reduction in the killed or seriously injured (KSI) road crash figures in the county over the next two and a half years. Developed with the Kent hospital trusts, KCC believes that the campaign will not only save lives, but also millions of pounds in NHS resources.

Recently available crash data shows that KSI incidents in Kent are continuing to decline indicating an encouraging trend. However, KCC has set itself a tough new challenge to reduce the county’s crash numbers to meet the Government’s 2010 “Tomorrow’s Roads: Safer for Everyone” targets three years early, by the end of 2007. By meetings these figures KCC will help the county’s hospitals and emergency services reduce their expenditure by up to £215 million.

Overall figures for the last year, 2004, show KCC was 30% below the 1994-98 KSI base. To drive these figures even lower, KCC has announced a substantial investment in a road safety campaign. The £1.3 million Kent-wide campaign will include hard hitting images and messages to discourage drivers from speeding, drink / drug driving, and using any form of mobile phone while driving.

Mr Graham Gibbens, Kent County Council’s Lead Member for Environment and Transport and Chairman of the Highways Advisory Board, stated. “We are one of the first county councils to undertake a unified television, radio and media campaign, to drive home the fact that crashes affect you, your family and friends. This campaign uses local Kent people whose lives have been deeply affected by road traffic crashes.

Mr. Gibbens, “The ‘Help Save 478 Live’ campaign has a strap line ‘it will cost you in the end’, that can mean points on your license, court fines or even worse with injury or death. The latest KSI figures are encouraging, but we feels it is our duty to highlight road safety to our residents and encourage them to be more responsible while driving.”

Table 1. KSI Figures from 1994-98 baseline through 2004-2007 and 2010 – data from KCC

    1994-98 base    2004 - actual    2007 KCC target    2010 Govt target    Actual reduction

Total Kent KSI    1194    839    716    716    478

The campaign launches with television, radio and poster advertising across the region and the programme is planned so that the same messages are continually reinforced. Kent residents will view the television advertising and have those same messages again and again on the local radio stations and posters sites across the county. During this campaign KCC will instigate its largest number of road safety initiatives which will be created to change driver and passenger attitudes. Many high profile publicity and community involvement activities are planned, as well as co-ordination with other Government and non-government body road safety initiatives.

Mr. Gibbens, concluded, “We believe we have developed a campaign that will affect and educate the residents of Kent, who we need to reach. Today we are rolling out a two and a half year publicity campaign which should have a huge impact in reducing loss of life and serious crashes on the roads of Kent.”

Other activities are scheduled to take place during the campaign to ensure the momentum of the safety messages is kept at a high level throughout the period.

Editor contacts:            

ZEST

Simon Merrick – 01634 671167

KCC                        

Lisa Whitbread – 01622    694177            

Ian Procter – 01622 221285

Peter Chapman – 01732 884627

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