Project EDWARD 2021 will comprise three national road trips, a series of events and a new ‘national safe speeds day’, as the organisers look to showcase how the ‘Safe System’ is being put to good use across the country.
The week-long Project EDWARD (Every Day Without A Road Death) road safety initiative is held annually in September. This year the dates are Monday 13 – Friday 17 September.
Since its first ‘outing’ in 2016, Project EDWARD has enjoyed growing success on social media platforms. It trended globally on Twitter in its very first year, while in 2020 its social media reach was an impressive 56 million.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council and the National Fire Chiefs Council confirmed their involvement in Project EDWARD 2021 earlier in the year, and the event is also supported by the DfT, Highways England, GoSafe Wales, Police Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
The theme for Project EDWARD 2021 is ‘Fit for the Road’ and the three road trips will start in Ely, Dundee and Plymouth. Each will be driven in an electric car and will set out to highlight examples of good practice in techniques, policies and strategies that reflect the principles of the Safe System, a generic term for approaches such as ‘Vision Zero’, ‘Sustainable Safety’ and ‘Towards Zero’.
Simon Turner, operations manager for Project EDWARD, said: “Project EDWARD is closely aligned with The Safe System.
“We look forward to seeing and sharing some great examples of work by the emergency services as well as by hospitals, highways agencies, local authorities and companies that promote the Safe System’s key objectives.”
There is also a new element this year in the form of a ‘national safe speeds day’. Running for 24 hours from 07.00 on Wednesday 15 September, this initiative will be coordinated by NRPOII (the National Roads Policing Operations Intelligence and Investigation) and will see police forces across the UK deploying officers for high-profile speed checks.
This will be backed up by enforcement from camera vans and Community SpeedWatch groups, with high levels of advance publicity to remind drivers and riders to make ‘good choices’ about the speeds they use.
Talking about the new safe speeds day, Simon Turner added: “Excessive or inappropriate speed is a factor in nearly half of all fatal road collisions.
“The purpose of national safe speeds day is to remind drivers of the risks they face – and the risks they pose to other road users – when they choose to drive above the speed limit or at speeds that are inappropriate for the conditions or the type of road they are using.
“Every road death is preventable, so our goal for this operation is to have a day when no one has died on the road – because we were all willing to be more careful, more thoughtful and more considerate.”
Sponsors of Project EDWARD 2021 include Westcotec, Nextbase, GEM Motoring Assist, HCC Solicitors, D.tec International, Carnell, Dawes Safety Group, DriveTech, Jenoptik, Webfleet Solutions, Drive Smarter, Network Rail and Emergency Response Driver Training.
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