Young farmers aim to improve safety on roads

Editorial Department • Published 26 Aug 2010 16:00

Young farmers in Fermanagh and Tyrone will be launching a local road safety initiative on Monday, September 6 to highlight the dangers to young people of the using our roads.

A Provincewide launch was held recently at the King’s Hall, Belfast, attended by the Minister for the Environment, Mr. Edwin Poots and representatives from the PSNI, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, and the DOE as well as representatives of the Ulster Farmers’ Union and YFCU. The Commissioner for Children and Young People, Patricia Lewsley also attended.

The campaign aims to educate members on how best to stay safe on the roads and is aimed at young people aged 16 years plus as research shows it is this target age group who are most likely to be involved in a road traffic collision.

The Minister said: “The tragedy of road death is the sheer suddenness of it - where life can change forever in a matter of seconds.  Many of the victims are very likely healthy and well - and expected to come home that night.  This Young Farmers’ initiative will enable us to deliver the powerful road safety message to the very core of our community, to the areas that need it most and to the most vulnerable on the roads - our young people.”

Three county events have been organised and will be delivered in partnership with the PSNI, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) and the DOE. The joint county events will last ninety minutes and will include an interactive road safety presentation from the PSNI and an outdoor reconstruction of a road traffic accident by NIFRS. The Fermanagh and Tyrone launch will be held at Loughry Campus.

Acting Chief Fire Officer, Peter Craig, from the NIFRS commented; “By working in partnership with the YFCU and our road safety partners we are able to work directly with this important group of young drivers or potential young drivers who live in rural areas to teach them the consequences of road traffic collisions.

“Our dedicated Road Rescue Team will be carrying out simulated road traffic collision rescue demonstrations which are a powerful way of bringing home the reality and carnage that road traffic collisions can cause and that our Firefighters witness all too often on Northern Ireland’s roads.

“We would encourage all young farmers to attend one of the road safety events as together we all have a responsibility to make our roads safer.”

YFCU President Thoburn McCaughey said, “The rural road safety campaign is very close to our hearts and we hope all our members will fully support the initiative and attend their relevant county event. It is hoped that the campaign will lead to us all taking greater care on the roads and ultimately reduce the number of potential accidents taking place.”

Colin McDonald, Chief Executive of the RUAS who sponsored the launch of the campaign said; “The RUAS is proud to support the launch of this road safety campaign. Many rural communities have been left devastated by the loss of young lives on our roads. I would encourage everyone to become involved in these events, to tackle the issues facing road users and to help reduce the number of casualties and serious injuries.”

For further information on the county events and future events please contact YFCU HQ on 90 37 07 13 or email info@yfcu.org.

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This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 26 Aug 10

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