Long-serving RSOs leave the profession

13.55 | 23 February 2011 | | 1 comment

Two long-serving road safety professionals – the Reverend Patrick McEune (right) from Wiltshire County Council and Chris Hamer from Barnsley Metropolitan Council – are to leave the profession after a combined total of more than 50 years in road safety.

Patrick McEune has taken early retirement from Wiltshire County Council where he has been head of road safety for many years.

He joined road safety in the 1970s with Essex County Council before moving to Southend-on-Sea Borough Council in 1979. In 1988 he moved to Wiltshire County Council as deputy county RSO. Patrick became national chairman of the IRSO in 1996 and has served on many other national road safety committees, including PACTS, AIRSO and RoSPA.

Chris Hamer is leaving his position as Barnsley’s road safety officer. In an open letter to fellow professionals he looks back over his 20 years in road safety and reflects on the impact he made.

In the letter Chris concludes: “People are more important than things. Investing in road safety staff to deliver personal messages, working in local communities in partnership with other agencies delivering the “cradle to grave” message through “changing hearts and minds” is much more important than impersonal viral messages sent to mobile phones, posters in toilets or printed materials posted out.

“Many thanks for the past 20 years – you are a great bunch, keep up the good work.”

Click here to read his letter in full.

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    Chris
    you will be sorely missed as we are sure Patrick will be although we haven’t had the pleasure of working with him directly as we have you.
    What’s happening at present defies logic; this experience and knowledge will not be replaced and road safety education will be all the poorer for it (as will the casualty data in a few years hence)
    We wish you all the very best
    Jan & the team at Dynamic


    Jan Deans, Edinburgh
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