A DRIVE for Life road safety event took place at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU).

The event was held by the university on Wednesday, September 28 in conjunction with the Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership.

It promoted road safety to freshers, returning students, and members of staff, and raised awareness of the horrors of road traffic collisions with hard-hitting talks and demonstrations.

The keynote speech ‘Let’s just get home’ was given by former students Rachel McGrath and Adj Bell-Irving, who shared their tragic experience of a traffic collision.

Rachel and Adj explained that they were sharing their experience with students in the hope they would become more aware of road safety, and think twice before getting behind the wheel of a car.

Students had the opportunity to attend a series of workshops on the physiology of a crash, the consequence of the law, the emotional impact on the service involved, and take part exhibitions – such as the drink and drug testing and 3D driving awareness go karts.

Other areas covered were speeding, anti-social use of vehicles, and the promotion of safe and sociable driving.

Julie Tottle, student support services manager, said: “We delivered a successful Drive for Life event yesterday, working with the Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership.

“As a rural community, we are often dependent on our vehicles. We wanted to highlight the dangers of drink driving to prevent the harm and heartache caused by a traffic collision, and safeguard the driving futures of our students.”

The event culminated in the live extraction of a human casualty from a vehicle, as Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service arrived first at the scene of a simulated traffic collision.

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