Raising road safety awareness and reducing the number and severity of road traffic collisions on Clare’s roads is the objective of an event in the public car park at Glór, Ennis, next week.
The roadshow will include a roll-over simulator demonstrating what it is like to be involved in a car crash, first hand accounts from emergency first responders and an interactive shuttle featuring driving, motorbike and bicycle simulators, reaction timers, Driver Theory Test computers, and screens showing road safety advertisements.
Organised by the Clare Road Safety Action Group, comprising Clare County Council, An Garda Síochána, HSE, Road Safety Authority, Clare Civil Defence and Clare County Fire & Rescue Service, it is open to all.
On Wednesday morning, hundreds of secondary school students will witness the full horror of a road crash at a simulation aimed at showing teenagers the human tragedy behind the statistics. The demonstration is targeted at young people who are about to embark on their driving careers or who currently travel in cars with young friends.
Among the schools that will be represented are Gaelcholáiste an Chláir, St Caimin’s, Ennistymon CBS, St Joseph’s Secondary School, Spanish Point and St Joseph’s Secondary School, Tulla.
Barry Keating, road safety officer for Clare County Council said, “The main aim of this event is to change people’s attitude towards road safety. It is not only about making people better drivers but also making them realise how easy it is for things to go wrong and the consequences of bad driving habits.”
The event takes place from midday to 5pm on Wednesday and from 9.30am. to 5pm on Thursday.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.