A CONVOY of emergency service vehicles will travel along a major route in Devon on Monday, September 13 to demonstrate the resources required to attend a serious road traffic collision.

It comes after a spate of crashes across the South West which have resulted in numerous deaths and serious injuries over the past few weeks.

Devon and Cornwall Police vehicles, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service engines, ambulances, National Highways vehicles and emergency service motorbikes will travel together along the A38 from Plymouth to the Devon Air Ambulance base at Exeter Airport.

The convoy will formally launch the national road safety road trip organised by the charity Project EDWARD (Every Day Without A Road Death).

All those taking part are members of the Vision Zero South West road safety partnership, a group which aims to eradicate ALL serious and fatal collisions from Devon and Cornwall’s roads.

The event will also include details of a new project which will see 170 dashcams given out free to businesses that regularly use our road network to allow them to feed into Devon and Cornwall Police’s .

The emergency services will gather in the car park of Sainsburys at Marsh Mills in Plymouth on the morning where they will be joined by senior councillors, members of the Safe38 campaign group and other Vision Zero partners who all share the aim of cutting serious collisions to zero.

The road trip will then be officially launched at 11am by Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez, who is chairman of Vision Zero South West and also the national APCC lead for road safety.

Commissioner Hernandez said: ‘Vision Zero believes that every tragic death on our roads is avoidable and we’re determined to do everything within our power to make this vision a reality.

‘We can only do this by working together in close-knit partnership with the other agencies who also see the dreadful and far-reaching effects of these collisions.’

SuperintendeOp Snapnt Adrian Leisk of the roads policing team said: ‘Sadly we still see far too many people being killed or seriously injured on our road network across Devon and Cornwall and while the numbers are reducing, there is still much more work needed to educate road users in staying safe.

‘It is estimated the cost to public services of a fatal collision is around £2.2m but the far greater cost is the impact that loss of life has on families and loved ones of the deceased – a message colleagues had to deliver many times last year after 55 people sadly lost their lives on our roads.’

Cllr Philip Desmonde, Cornwall Council cabinet portfolio holder for transport, said: ‘Fatal and serious injury road traffic collisions have a devastating and long-lasting impact. 

‘Our collective vision is for the road network of Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly to be free from death and serious injury by 2040. While bold and ambitious, this goal is achievable if we work together and continue to lead the way when it comes to improving road safety.’

DAA is proud to work with all emergency services across the region, in support of the Project Edward and Vision Zero initiatives. 

Devon Air Ambulance will help to showcase the importance of post-crash care, while other agencies, organisations and emergency services will promote discussion around vehicle safety, safe road use, safe speed, and safe roads and roadsides.Last year, 216 missions of the 1507 missions that Devon Air Ambulance’s two aircraft and two Critical Care Cars attended were to road traffic collisions. This accounts for over 14% of all missions.

Devon Air Ambulance Operations Director, Nigel Hare said: ‘Every fatal road traffic collision is a tragedy, not just for the family and friends of those that have died, but also for others who were directly involved or who kindly stopped to render help and assistance.

‘The greatest tragedy, however, is that often these collisions are avoidable. All of us that drive can help reduce the chances of such tragedies occurring, simply by driving with greater attention to the road conditions and other road users.’

 Head of Communications at Devon Air Ambulance, Charlotte Leventis said:  ‘Halving road deaths by 2030 is a worthy and ambitious aim, but we’re not there yet. That’s why we are delighted to support the Project EDWARD campaign and to help raise awareness about the efforts being made to enhance safety on our roads.