Winchester Road Safety Council - TrustNews August 1988
(contributed by the Trust's representative on the WRSC, Councillor Ann Bailey)
Can you design a road safety poster? If the answer is yes and you would like to give it a try, then enter for the poster competition presently being organised by this committee.
After making a detailed study of the accident statistics in this area, the Road Safety Committee found that 'turning right carelessly' is a major cause of injury accidents. Having identified a serious cause of accidents, we are now trying to find the right way of driving the message home to the public at large. The poster competition is just one idea, but if you have any better ones then please let us know.
What are we? Hampshire County Council invited the Districts to set up Road Safety Councils as long ago as 1985. Most areas took up the challenge and formed Committees straight away. Just a handful of District Councils, however, decided not to bother. Winchester City, unfortunately, was one of these. In these few cases the County have had to form a group on behalf of the District so that we have full coverage.
Our aims are the education, training and publicity necessary to improve the public awareness of road safety. We discuss many different aspects of road problems in the Winchester District. We can make recommendations to the Planning and Transport Department of Hampshire County Council on any aspect of road design and improvement where we think it will help to improve safety.
Who are we? Members are drawn from all walks of life. Councillors, doctors, driving instructors and representatives of various organisations like the Winchester Preservation Trust, to name but a few. If you think you have something to contribute and can attend a meeting about once every 3 months, then contact the Road Safety Officer at The Castle Winchester.
At our last meeting the chairman reported on the Road Safety Conference held in February. We discussed the Drink Driving Campaign, accidents within the Winchester District, a report on the use of cardboard policemen, and the experimental plastic rumble strips on the Andover Road at Harestock. On the agenda for our next meeting are cycle and walking routes.
If you do want to win a prize in our competition or join the team, then for further details contact the Secretary, Winchester District Road Safety Council, County Surveyor's Department, The Castle, Winchester, S023 8UD (tel. Win. 856648) and remember to "turn right carefully"!