"Stay Alert, Stay Alive" - 2010 TT road safety campaign launched
The Road Safety Campaign for the 2010 Isle of Man TT has been launched with the simple message “Stay Alert, Stay Alive”.
The Isle of Man Department of Infrastructure, in conjunction with the Isle of Man Constabulary, unveiled the campaign on Friday. It is a continuation of the 2009 campaign and features a series of hard-hitting images of real crash scenes from police archives and the strap line ‘Stay Alert, Stay Alive’, a concise and hard hitting message which, coupled with the campaign imagery, it intended to leave a lasting impression on residents and visitors.
The DoI said the imagery had been chosen as it illustrates the consequences and the aftermath of a serious road accident. All but one of the images used are genuine accident scenes from previous TT festivals. The image depicting the deceased rider with a yellow motorbike was staged for the campaign with actors, but features a real crash bike and is based on authentic police photographic records.
Infrastructure Minister Phil Gawne said:
“This year we wanted to continue to emphasise the catastrophic impact an accident can have on the rider or driver involved. Although some of the images may be difficult to look at, we feel that it is important for people to see real accidents scenes and how a split second can affect lives so dramatically.”
“The images used show the sheer devastation which follows a road traffic accident. Whilst it is very saddening to note that some lives were lost as a result of these accidents, we hope that these hard-hitting images will make people stop and think about how they ride or drive. The key aim of this campaign is to discourage reckless riding and driving by changing public attitude towards road safety. Ultimately, we want to prevent accidents like these happening again.”
As part of the TT road safety campaign, the one-way system on the Mountain Road is being re-introduced for the duration of the 2010 TT festival. A leaflet explaining the one-way system will soon be available from the Sea Terminal in Douglas and other outlets. The road safety message will be reinforced by billboards on the TT course, radio advertisements and general information leaflets.
Mr Gawne added:
“In addition to the one-way system over the Mountain Road, there have been a number of modifications roads around the Island, including the ongoing works at Richmond Hill.”
“All these details have been compiled in the general TT 2010 Road Safety information leaflet, which will be given out to visitors at every opportunity including when they depart from the ferries on Circus Beach. We have also produced fact sheets and fun games for school children which will be distributed in schools as a downloadable file from the school’s computer system.”
The TT Road Safety Campaign will be broadcast on all local radio stations and will cover all aspects of road safety. As well as the all-important anti-drink driving message, they will remind residents to keep animals and domestic pets away from potentially dangerous situations on the roads, urge bikers to avoid stopping on bends, and advise all road users to look out for temporary speed limits in place for the duration of the TT.
Chief Constable Mike Langdon said:
“The key aim of the Isle of Man Constabulary is ‘keeping people safe’ and we will work to achieve this throughout TT as we do through the rest of the year. We work as hard as we can to ensure that people who are on the Island at that time have confidence in our roads and the Police, are reassured by our presence and can be satisfied that if they are involved in any incident that we will deal with it professionally.”
“The continuing Road Safety Campaign along the lines of last year’s – ‘Stay Alert, Stay Alive’ – provides a poignant message which helps both the officers of the Isle of Man Constabulary, our partner agencies including the DoI and the people who live and visit the Island achieve as safe a TT as is possible.”
Statistics for last year’s TT show there was an increase in all road traffic collisions except fatal accidents compared with 2008 - 27 serious injury compared with 16 in 2008, 25 slight injury compared with 22 in 2008, 45 damage only compared with 41 in 2008 and one involving an animal, compared with none in 2008. There were 52 collisions recorded on the TT course, including 35 on the Mountain section. Motorcycles were involved in 74 of last year’s TT collisions, including 39 on the TT course, of which 29 were on the Mountain.
In line with previous years, the Island’s Roads Policing Unit will be increasing to 18 constables, two sergeants and three inspectors. The vehicle fleet will also increase by an additional seven cars.
Inspector Mark Britton of the Roads Policing Unit said high visibility patrols and speed checks will be carried out, with a focus will be on structured speed checks using pro-laser speed detection devices. The Constabulary’s Neighbourhood Policing Teams will be conducting early morning speed checks around the Island.
He added:
“This is not about preventing people enjoying our roads - we want this TT to be safe. I have reviewed last year’s casualty data and it is lamentable that there some people who did not go home from TT 2009, and that some went home with significant life changing injuries. The headline facts are that recorded road traffic collisions have increased by 19%.”
It was revealed an American police vehicle will be in the Isle of Man during the 2010 TT. The 2006 Dodge Charger has a 5.7 litre, V8 Hemi engine capable of 425bhp and more than 150mph. On Friday, June 4, the car will be on show at Police Headquarters near the TT Grandstand in Glencrutchery Road, Douglas, from 6pm to 7pm.
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