Road Respect Blog

KRASH MotorShow is here

26/09/2011

KRASH MOTORSHOW IS HERE!!!

Road Respect, the regions better driving campaign, presents the Krash MotorShow with Whickham and District Motor Club and Gateshead College. 

Krash is a high octane event demonstrating the excitement of motor sport,  why extreme driving belongs on the track and not on the road and letting people know how to get involved. 

The event, at the old Huwoods Factory Site, Team Valley on 9th Octorber, will include demonstrations from Auto Cross, Rally Cross, motorcycles and will give some people the opportunity to experience motor sport first hand by taking part in the AutoSolo tests. 

As part of the event, the region’s Road Respect Campaign will be on hand to make the contrast between driving on the track and driving on the road with their exhibition with the emergency services.  Gateshead College also will be at the event providing options on different ways to be involved in motoring and how to make it a career. 
 

The Road Respect campaign said, “This event is about bringing the energy and excitement of motor sport to the area and giving people the opportunity to take part in a safe controlled environment.  We are encouraging young people to come along and see the opportunities in motor sport, learn about car control and hopefully get an understanding about why it’s best to keep the speed on the track and off the road.  However, we want everyone to have fun and enjoy themselves.  Being safe does not mean being boring.

“Working with the Tyneside Motor Group, Whickham and District Motor Club and Gateshead College is a great way to link motor sport, education and the skills required to manage the track and the road.  We want to give people to the message to leave the speed for the track and be responsible on the roads.”

Paul Hughes, Chairman from the Whickham and District Motor Club said, “We’re looking forward to putting on an high octane, highly exciting event showing people how easy and inexpensive it is to get involved in motor sport.  Driving can be exciting and fun as long as people do it in the right environment.  We’ve been involved in many races around the country but its exciting to have an event take place right in the heart of Tyneside.  We really want it to boost motor sport in the region while promoting a really positive driving message.” 

The event is being supported by Road Respect, Gateshead College the Whickham and District Motor Club and video content from the day will be available at www.krashtv.co.uk - more information about the event can be found on www.facebook.com/roadrespectuk

Speeding driver asks to be banned to avoid taking test

07/09/2011

The below is an interesting twist on a driver attempting to get out of getting penalty points being added to his licence.  Asking for a ban.  - He could start research into the brain's ability to control the feet.  See the story below courtesy of Road Safety Support.

A SHEFFIELD University lecturer took the unusual step of asking a court to disqualify him from driving rather than impose penalty points, after he admitted travelling at more than 10mph above the speed limit.

Sheffield Magistrates Court heard yesterday (Tuesday September 6, 2011) that Dr Tennore Ramesh was caught speeding in wife’s Toyota by a mobile speed camera at 41mph in a 30mph zone on Halifax Road, Sheffield in July 2010.

He originally denied the offence claiming that the laser device must have recorded his speed inaccurately.

He instructed an expert who tried to cast doubt on the checks made by the camera operator, claiming the distance at which the car had been measured did not match the distance on Google Earth, the court was told.

But a survey of the site by a prosecution expert confirmed the ‘error’ was with Google Earth, not the laser, leaving Dr Ramesh with no choice but to change his plea to guilty on the morning of the trial.

The 46-year-old, of the university’s Academic Neurology department, has held a UK driving licence for less than two years and already had three penalty points for an earlier speeding conviction. Under the rules for new drivers, anyone accumulating more than six points after passing their test has their licence revoked and must retake their test.

He urged the court to disqualify him from driving rather than award any further penalty points in the hope that it would protect his licence.
But passing sentence, District Judge Naomi Redhouse told Dr Ramesh that she was not prepared to disqualify him just because it would be an advantage to him. She ordered a further three points be added to his licence and left the question of its revocation to DVLA.
Dr Ramesh, of Leeds, was also ordered to pay costs of £3392 and fined £375. 

Note to motorists - Google Earth is not a good defence. 

Road Respect moving.... sideways!

19/04/2011

Road Respect will join JDM Allstars for Round 2 of their drift series for some heart pounding fun...on the track.   

We’re about better driving in all it’s forms and JDM Allstars are all about precision driving...on the track.  

Anyone can drive fast, but it takes skill to control a vehicle and that includes sticking to the speed limit.  JDM Allstars events are brilliant for some good fun high octane entertainment where the truly skilled drivers keep their antics...on the track.  

We hope lots of people join us, see some pretty cool cars, some pretty amazing driving and lots of excitement...on the track.  

If you want to join us visit http://www.jdmallstars.com/blog/?page_id=1062 site for more information.  

If you would also like to see some drifting excitement and see drifting driver Anthony “Scotty” Scott getting glammed up with some lipstick...on the track visit www.krashtv.co.uk 

Students hit the airwaves

07/04/2011

This is a press release that went out from Sunderland College.  Road Respect want to say a huge thanks and well done to the students for some incredible ideas.  Lots to work with and lots that we think will make a big impact.  

Begins

City of Sunderland College students have been learning about the importance of road safety by taking part in a special radio project delivered by Road Respect Radio Creative Campaign with Sun FM. 

The campaign is part of the Northumbria Safer Roads Initiative (NSRI) which is committed to reducing collisions and casualties on the road across the region through education.

As part of the initiative, Creative Writer, Dave Borthwick and Managing Director of Silver Mine Communications, Jeremy Forsberg, worked with a group of vocational students at the College’s Shiney Row Centre. 

The students were asked to develop creative radio campaigns, ideas from which could be used to highlight Road Respect issues such as drink driving, speeding, the danger of using mobile phones or being distracted while driving. 

Students were given a brief and were asked to develop a radio advert script which would appeal to young drivers aged 17-25 years old. 

Emma Louise Stewart, a BND Drama Student at the College took part in the campaign. She said: “Lots of things can cause road accidents. I’m learning to drive myself and the session certainly made me think twice about what I’m doing when I’m behind the wheel. 

“I really enjoyed getting involved in writing a radio advert and trying to get into the mind of the audience.”

The brief was designed to give the students an insight into the world of radio advertising as well as challenging them to come up with creative campaigns which could be featured on air in the future. 

Jeremy Forsberg of Silver Mine Communications is part of a creative team which develops some of the Road Respect campaigns delivered online, on the radio and on television across the UK. He said: “It’s really important to get young people involved as the age group of 17-25 year olds may account for less than 1 in 10 drivers but they cause around 33% of accidents annually. 

“We’re interested in listening to the input from students to see what would appeal to them and most importantly how we can target their age group with relevant information about being safe on the roads.”

The students were given one and a half hours to come up with their campaigns which were then reviewed by Jeremy and Dave.  

Dave Borthwick, said: “The students at City of Sunderland College came up with some great creative ideas. The topic can be a difficult subject to deal with, but it was handled very well by the guys who gave us a lot of feedback that we can use in future commercials.” 

According to Road Respect, there were 1,020 people killed or severely injured on the region’s roads last year. A staggering 1 in 3 men under the age of 20 crash their car within the first year of driving. 

For more information on the enrichment activities offered by City of Sunderland College, visit www.citysun.ac.uk/school-leavers-16-18/give-it-a-go/