Shropshire is the latest area of the country to join the Honest Truth Partnership which has been set up to help driving instructors deliver safety messages to young people before they take to the roads on their own.
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 in July 2015.
Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service has joined forces with the Safer Road Partnership, Shropshire Council and Telford and Wrekin Council to use the campaign to develop relationships with local driving instructors.
Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service has written to scores of approved driving instructors (ADIs) across the county to explain how the ‘Honest Truth’ campaign works and encourage them to include eight safety messages in driving lessons.
Rabinder Dhami, Shropshire Fire and Rescue’s prevention manager, said: “For most young drivers their first experience behind the wheel will be with an ADI and that’s why we are trying to get instructors involved in this campaign. They are in the best position to get these safety messages across.”
Vicki Bristow, communications manager from the Safer Roads Partnership, said: “There are a number of initiatives and campaigns that we cover throughout the year to try and bring (young driver casualty) numbers down but it’s great that we can work with our partner agencies in Shropshire on this new initiative to try and reduce the number of those killed and seriously injured on our roads.”
Shropshire Fire and Rescue plans to run a series of training sessions on 17 and 18 September at its Shrewsbury headquarters to explain the Honest Truth initiative to ADIs.
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