Colas backs Road Safety Week campaign

Fri, 06 Jan 2012

Colas backed Road Safety Week 2011 (21-27 November) in support of Brake, a charity dedicated to highlighting road safety through campaigning on key issues, which has been supported by the company for several years.

The theme of Road Safety Week 2011 was 'Too Young to die', and the primary aim of Colas' involvement this year was to tackle the issue of crashes involving young drivers and passengers, following a recent survey revealing the extent of deadly risk taking amongst this age group. Colas also visited schools to educate children on how to stay safe on the roads.

The company's Safer Attitudes in Driving (SAID) and community involvement teams supported a week of road safety activities across its operations nationally and focused in particular on events in Portsmouth and Leeds. Many company employees devoted time to the cause, and Colas provided road safety promotional materials to give away at the events, as well as visiting schools to help educate children on how to stay safe on the roads.

From the 21st to the 24th, Colas supported Portsmouth City Council's road safety team running activities in local schools, and on the 25th they displayed a number of their large operational vehicles as part of a major event in the city centre - this was to promote vital road safety messages through raising young peoples' awareness of the dangers posed by these vehicles.

Also on the 25th, Colas' road safety and community involvement representatives supported West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue in Leeds to get the road safety message across to young people through sharing experiences drawn from company driver safety initiatives over many years.

Additionally, Colas sponsored Brake road safety banners that were displayed in the centres of Portsmouth and Leeds all week; and the company-wide support for Road Safety Week culminated in a sponsored Brake Bright Day competition in all Colas offices on the 25th.

Feedback from the events was extremely positive, and Colas managed to raise £190.00 on Brake Bright Day.

Colas Chief Executive, Lee Rushbrooke, said of the week: "Colas is extremely proud to be associated with the vitally important road safety message. We have invested considerable effort in training, guidance and monitoring over the past decade to promote safer attitudes in driving amongst our employees, and this has enabled Colas to achieve significant reduction in motor incidents over that period. The crucial next step for our company is to be able to share the benefits of our experience and resources with the broader community that we serve. National Road Safety Week is the ideal opportunity to do this."