More than 60 driving instructors in Hertfordshire will receive new resources to help them educate young drivers as a result of the Hertfordshire Road Safety Partnership joining The Honest Truth campaign.
The Honest Truth was developed in Devon in 2009 and is now also running in Cornwall, Wiltshire and Swindon, Dorset, Essex, Somerset, Staffordshire, Cumbria, Nottinghamshire, Kent and was launched in Hertfordshire on 28 July.
The campaign features animal-human hybrids representing eight issues which “contribute to serious or fatal crashes and their consequences”: speed, drink, drugs, seatbelts, mobile phones, distractions, showing off and improper insurance. Each animal is linked to the topic – for example a cheetah for ‘speed’ – with students asked ‘Which one are you?’
Each topic is supported with statistics, real life stories and messages as part of the instructor’s resource pack, which is intended to help driving instructors teach students how to reduce their risk of a collision on the road.
In Hertfordshire The Honest Truth is being organised by Hertfordshire’s Fire and Rescue Service, working with Hertfordshire Police and the county council road safety team, as part of the Hertfordshire Road Safety Partnership.
The new resources for instructors include an information booklet, website, in-car ‘message of the day’ prompt cards, leaflets for students and parents, and posters. These are designed to tell students ‘The Honest Truth’ about safer driving, encouraging them to make small changes to their habits to help save lives.
Terry Douris, cabinet member for highways, said: “We’re really excited to be launching this campaign in Hertfordshire and it’s great that so many driving instructors have already signed up.
“Small changes really can make a big difference, and it’s that message that’s at the heart of The Honest Truth. Hopefully this initiative will make a real difference and help us reduce the number of people killed and injured on Hertfordshire’s roads.”
All of the recommendations are currently being taken forward apart from 4.2.2 which referred to “older learners”; the group had reservations about it as they believed the use of animal hybrids is the unique element of the campaign and would remain focused on young learner drivers at present. A new website has been built and is just going through final testing before being launched. The other recommendations are being worked on by the delivery group and will filter into the project. Further evaluation will take place in the future.
Nigel Flower, Devon County Council
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As this campaign continues to grow I would be very interested to know if any of the recommendations from the TRL evaluation of the Honest Truth are being implemented?
Neil Snow, Nottingham City Council
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