THE
ROAD SAFETY TRUST
Making Roads Safer
Current or completed projects relevant to Emergency Services Funded through grants from The Road Safety Trust The Road Safety Trust is dedicated to making the UK’s roads the safest in the world. As an independent grant-giving charity, Road Safety Trust funds vital research and practical interventions committed to reducing the number of people killed or injured on our roads. 1
Making Roads Safer For…All Road Users
Further development of the Green Light safety app (Drive VR) This project was operated by West Mercia Police and has completed. Ever thought about how easily a split-second decision could change the rest of your life? DriveVR is an innovative new app from the Safer Roads Partnership in Warwickshire and West Mercia, produced for young drivers and passengers aged 17-25. DriveVR has been promoted at ‘Green Light’ workshops held in schools and colleges in Hereford and Worcestershire. It has the aim of improving young people’s road safety by helping them understand the consequences of poor decisions and providing ways of managing peer pressure. The app has been downloaded over 11,500 times since its launch, and it’s been promoted via Facebook and First Car. The app has been designed to work with Google Cardboard VR and other compatible virtual reality headsets (compatible mobile device required). Videos can also be viewed in 360 without a headset. To download the free app, visit www.drivevr.co.uk and follow the links to the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.
Promoting safety for vulnerable road users: assessing the investigation and enforcement of endangerment offences University of Leicester – An executive summary and full report launched and available, together with video and podcasts about the project, from the Road Safety Trust website: https:// www.roadsafetytrust.org.uk/ funded-projects/19/universityof-leicester-vulnerable-roadusers
Innovators and innovations in preventing mobile phone use while driving: sharing and improving practice University of Keele, completed, although further work has been funded through to the end of 2019. The project gathered, reviewed and promoted work in the area of mobile phone use while driving, and provided opportunities for practitioners to work with academic experts in the field to design and evaluate activities that have the best chance of delivering road safety benefits. A Compendium for the road safety profession on driving and mobile phone use was launched in March 2019 and is free to download from the Road Safety Trust’s website at: https://www.roadsafetytrust. org.uk/funded-projects/17/university-of-keele-mobile-phone-use An additional outcome of the project is the creation of a ‘Roads Policing Academic Network’ (RPAN).
Information on all projects can be found on our website at: www.roadsafetytrust.org.uk
The Road Safety Trust: Registered charity number 1156300; Company registered in England & Wales number 8837451
Strengthening the evidence base for effective pursuit management and decision-making for police officers and staff managing public safety and policing the roads
Capturing best information from witnesses to serious road traffic collisions
Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC)
The overall aim of this project is to increase road safety for all road users by increasing the efficiency and successful prosecution rate of investigations into serious road traffic collisions. It will develop a bespoke version of the SelfAdministered Interview (SAI) specifically for use with witnesses to Road Traffic Collisions (the SAI-RTC).
The aims of this project are to understand the nature of vehicle pursuits within London and identify appropriate responses in respect of skills, training, pursuit management and resilience. This will be achieved through a comprehensive review of existing research and studies involving pursuits and risk management and assessment of training guidance in respect of risk. Qualitative interviews with those involved in pursuits, policymakers and investigators. Develop training for risk assessment strategies and contingency plans.
Making Roads Safer For…Drivers
Reducing suicides on the UK roads – providing a baseline The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS), completed. Work and report raised awareness of roads-related suicide and sought influence through changes to recording, reporting and management, with following outcomes: • • • • •
Agreement from the DfT to retain road suicide records to allow for basic analysis; A pending review as to whether to include suicide/suspected suicide in STATS19 (or its replacement); Work with Highways England on their Suicide Prevention Toolkit and Strategy; Engagement with the Road Haulage Association (RHA) on what the RHA might do to progress the issue within its sector; Letter to Minister for Transport seeking clarification of ministerial responsibility for road-related suicides.
Swansea University (in partnership with South Wales Police)
Targeting road injury prevention Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (with Peterborough Road Safety Partnership) This project is looking in detail at crashes that cause severe injury and death, in particular examining the types of drivers that are involved in these crashes. This innovative project brings together partners from the Local Authority, Emergency Services, Higher Education and Cambridge University Hospitals to explore whether prevention strategies targeted at groups of drivers similar to those considered culpable for crashes, rather than targeting groups who are likely to be injured, have an impact on road safety.
Making Roads Safer For…Pedestrians
Reducing road traffic casualties through improved forensic techniques and vehicle design (RoaD) – proof of concept Coventry University The aim of this pilot project is to develop a proof of concept for a pedestrian trauma database. This would support A&E departments at the accident site, law enforcement in pedestrian accident scenarios and the design of future safer vehicles. The project will also investigate the opportunity of performing novel virtual Post Mortem using CTScans, which will improve PM accuracy and benefit grieving families by reducing the duration of the coronal process. Cambridge University Hospitals to explore whether prevention strategies targeted at groups of drivers similar to those considered culpable for crashes, rather than targeting groups who are likely to be injured, have an impact on road safety.
The National Fire Chiefs Council Extrication in Trauma In 2017 the National Fire Chiefs Council was awarded a grant by the Road Safety Trust to conduct research into the effect of extrication techniques applied to casualties following road traffic collisions. This project is called the Extrication in Trauma project, or EXIT. The ambition is to decrease injuries and save more lives.
supported by Dr James Shippen and Dr Barbara May from Coventry University who provide the biomechanical and motion capture expertise. Additional fire service support comes from Jenny Hill and West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service.
Case Study
Each year 1.35 million people die worldwide as a result of a road traffic collision, with a further 20 – 50 million suffering injuries. Extrication is an important but relatively unstudied link in the chain of survival for these road users. Over 7000 extrications are carried out each year in England alone and research has found that 88 per cent are extricated based on suspected spinal injuries. In reality the number of spinal injuries where small movements may make a difference is much smaller than previously thought. The EXIT group’s research has found that the average extrication time is 30 minutes with the fire service arriving 5 minutes before the ambulance service . The EXIT project team is examining how to complete more timely extrications with the minimum force and movement. The project is exploring three different options into extrication: • •
Many serious Road Traffic Collisions result in patients requiring extrication – the process of removing potentially injured people from vehicles. It is a complex process, often completed under difficult circumstances and with limited information about the extent of the injuries. The basic principle of extrication was developed in the 1960s out of the need to remove injured racing drivers from their cars. George Hurst invented the ‘Jaws of Life’ a hydraulic apparatus used to pry apart the wreckage of crashed vehicles in order to free people trapped inside. This principles for this method were developed based on suspicion of spinal injury with the objective of limiting spinal movement. The same basic principles of extrication are still being used some 50 years later. The EXIT team is led by Tim Nutbeam (Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Professor of Prehospital Care and the Lead Consultant for the Devon Air Ambulance), Rob Fenwick, (Advanced Clinical Practitioner) and Mike Dayson, a UK Fire Officer seconded from Cleveland Fire brigade to the National Fire Chiefs Council. The team is
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Self-extrication – allowing a patient to remove themselves from the vehicle; More timely extrications – sliding a board under the patient and removing them with minimal cuts applied to the vehicle; Full roof removal – using the ‘Jaws of Life’ to dismantle the car.
The methodology to test the three options involves simulating car crashes and using volunteers wearing Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) suits to examine all of the movements. By establishing the quickest and safest methods of extrication, this project hopes to improve patient outcomes, make better use of resources from all emergency services and reduce the impact of accidents on other road users.