More young people than ever before are dying or being injured as a result of violent crime on our streets.
These figures however, are far outweighed by the dozens of young people who die or are seriously injured on the region’s roads. These are not just benign statistics - young drivers are involved in a higher proportion of collisions than any other age group. They could be a family member, a friend, a work colleague or even one of your employees.
Road Respect is an initiative which aims to save lives and unnecessary heartache by changing the culture of driving in the North East to make our roads a safer place. Respect takes many forms and with this in mind we have established our Road Respect Charter to support the initiative and act as a vehicle for driving awareness of the issues surrounding respect. We need YOUR support to make a real difference.
For young drivers ‘respect’ represents respect for themselves, for their car, for fellow passengers and other road users, as well as for the driving conditions.
For you and your organisation, ‘respect’ represents the responsibility we all share for the wellbeing of our colleagues or employees such as: fleet drivers, car drivers, passengers, and commuters. A young workforce that knows you care will be a loyal workforce. A young workforce that drives with respect will be less likely to be involved in road-related accidents that often lead to costly absences (both temporary and permanent) from work - or impact on their performance in the workplace.
It’s an issue of conscience as well as one that makes sound business sense. This campaign is YOUR opportunity to spread the word and get your employees, colleagues, family and friends talking about respect.
By signing up to the Road Respect Charter you’ll show your employees, other companies, your customers and the general public that you’re putting people first, and that you mean business when it comes to caring about the future of your community. When you sign up, you’ll receive a Charter Pack from us which includes printed collateral such as posters, postcards and stickers, and your official Charter membership certificate which can be strategically displayed throughout your offices, reception and canteens to help create awareness of the campaign and your endorsement of it.
As the campaign progresses we’ll also be running online and road show based activities. We are keen to talk to you to discuss ideas/objectives that will help make a specific difference to your organisation.
Once you’re a Road Respect Charter member, your organisation’s name will appear on a constantly updated list of participating companies on this, the official Road Respect Charter website, where you’ll be viewed among your peers and can air your views on the issue of respect. Over the next few months we’ll also be providing you and your employees with the opportunity to share any real-life stories which may help potentially save lives in the future - by demonstrating the reality of loss of life and injuries which often results from driving with a lack of respect on the region’s roads. If you (or anyone you know) has a story to tell that could make a difference - we really want to hear from you. Our campaign team, supported by the Evening Chronicle is looking for ‘real’ stories from ‘real’ people and ‘real’ organisations. You could become central to our campaign, and attract excellent local PR and publicity for your organisation.
Respectful drivers are better for the environment.
If every motorist stuck to the 70 mph speed limit it has been calculated that we could reduce carbon emissions by 1 million tonnes per year (with even greater reductions at 60 mph.) Driving an average car (1.4 to 2.0 litre, petrol engine) costs an additional 4p per mile in fuel for every mile driven at 80 mph rather than 70 mph. Research in America has also shown that aggressive driving can reduce fuel efficiency by up to 33%! Road Respect not only prolongs the life of the driver but the world around us too.
Insurance and vehicle claims for fleet drivers are costing business millions of pounds each year.
The ‘hidden’ cost of employee absence as a result of bad driving also adds up; from showing up late for work, and absence due to injury or court appearance, to loss of licence and stress. (In fact research demonstrates 1 in 4 people say that driving is the most stressful part of their day with nearly half saying that it affects them – and their efficiency – throughout the rest of that day.) Combine this with the fact that the cost of stress to UK industry is around £3.7 billion per annum and the need for change becomes very apparent.