A team of road safety officers, police officers and driving instructors from across Merseyside and Cheshire is celebrating after scooping a national award at the inaugural First Car Young Driver Awards in London.
Engage North West is operated by a team comprising of road safety officers from the Merseyside Safer Roads Partnership, Cheshire West, Warrington, Halton, Merseyside and Cheshire Police and approved driving instructors from Merseyside and Cheshire. It is supported by Slater & Gordon Solicitors.
At a recent ceremony in London, the team won a silver award in the Education & Training Initiative Category to recognise its standout education programmes and training schemes that have made a big contribution in helping learner and newly qualified drivers to improve their skills and behaviour on the road.
Engage provides driving instructors with specialist resources and training to help them discuss a range of road safety topics with their learners. The training explains how to deliver messages on the key casualty factors which affect young drivers including drugs, alcohol, peer pressure and distractions.
The programme helps learner drivers to plan ahead and recognise the factors that can increase their chances of being involved in a collision. It also gives them coping mechanisms to deal with these when they have passed their test.
Engage North West entered both the Education & Training Initiative Award and the Partnership Scheme of the Year Award and was shortlisted in both categories. The partnership is delighted not only to be shortlisted but to have received the prestigious Silver Award in recognition of this worthwhile scheme.
Ian Edwards, the education lead for Engage, said: “the scheme has been shown to greatly enhance an instructor’s knowledge and ability to help some of the most vulnerable drivers on the road – young drivers.”
Assistant Chief Constable Andy Ward from Merseyside Police said: “This award shows what can be achieved when police forces (Merseyside and Cheshire), road safety officers and driving instructors work as a team. Our aim is to equip all new drivers with the skills and knowledge to stay safe once they have passed their test. We believe that the Engage scheme can do this”.
Inspector Richard Hill, Cheshire Police Roads Policing Operations Manager, said: “The silver award is a wonderful achievement and comes following the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award presented last November at the Road Safety GB Conference.
“To be recognised by two national road safety champions is an outstanding achievement and a credit to the continued work of the partnership to reduce the number of people who are killed and seriously injured on UK roads.”
Driving Instructors who are interested in becoming an Engage instructor can attend a half day training session organised on 30th June 2015 at Frodsham Fire Station. If you would like further information on joining instructions, please email Sarah.Collins@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
Further information is also available on www.engagedriving.co.uk.
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