Think safety and act to save lives on Leeds roads

People are being invited to test how good they are at understanding braking distances and other road safety skills with special simulators at an event aimed at helping reduce the numbers of road accidents in Leeds.

A pop-up road safety event, run by Leeds City Council’s Road Safety team, will be taking place at Dortmund Square 11am to 2pm on Wednesday 21 September. Visitors will be able to test out a braking distance reaction timer as well as roller bikes. The roller bikes are static bikes linked up to a projection of a virtual velodrome. They allow visitors to race against themselves and the clock or against friends over a distance of 250m.

Media opportunity

When: Wednesday 21 September at 2pm

Where: Dortmund Square (off the Headrow in front of the St John’s Centre)

Members of the media are welcome to come along to interview / photograph road safety staff, Cllr Jonathan Pryor and members of the public using the road safety simulators at the pop up stall.

The council’s road safety officers will joined by officers from West Yorkshire Police to hand out road safety information and encourage people to sign the Project EDWARD pledge promising to be considerate road users whether behind the wheel, on foot or on two wheels.

Councillor Jonathan Pryor, deputy executive member for culture and city centre management said:

“Small actions can lead to big improvements which it is why it’s so important for everyone to take actions that aim to save lives.

“Project EDWARD is a good way to remind people to use roads safely in our city. This event is just one day, but this reminder could make the world of difference when applied on the road.”

Project EDWARD is part of TISPOL’s ‘European Day Without a Road Death’ and encourages road users to think about their behaviour and attitude as roads are getting busier with people using lots of different modes of transport. For more information please see: www.tispol.org/edward

Notes

TISPOL is the European Traffic Police Network which was established by the traffic police forces of Europe in order to improve road safety and law enforcement on the roads of Europe. Project EDWARD is supported by all 30 TISPOL member countries, and a growing number of road safety organisations have pledged to work with TISPOL to promote the messages of EDWARD as far and wide as possible.