Hertfordshire Observatory

“When I saw my son’s car, upside down and in a ditch, I feared the worse. Throughout my career in the Fire Service I’ve seen the aftermath of many road traffic collisions and this was one of the worst I’ve seen.”

Those are the words of Group Commander Paul Hardy, whose son Rob and his friend were involved in a serious road traffic collision in March.

Although he suffered serious injuries, Rob survived the crash and he and Paul now want to warn other young drivers about the dangers they can face behind the wheel and are supporting the launch of Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Road Traffic Collision Reduction Strategy.

The strategy sets out how the Fire and Rescue Service will work with partners to try to reduce the number of people killed and injured on the county’s roads.

Chief Fire Officer Roy Wilsher said: “We are very well trained to respond to road traffic collisions, and administer immediate casualty care and cut people out of cars when they are trapped.

“What we want to do now is continue to work with our partners such as the Police and the road safety department to reduce the number of collisions that occur in the first place so we don’t have to keep cutting people out of wrecked cars. We want to put an end to the destruction and heartache caused by road deaths.”

The strategy outlines existing projects and initiatives, as well as new areas of work to reduce the number of collisions.

Richard Smith, Executive Member for Community Safety said: “With this strategy we want to build on our existing partnerships to use our resources in the best way to help keep people living and driving through Hertfordshire safe on our roads.

“I think this is the first major step towards a successful partnership to improve road safety and there is a lot of good work to come.”

The official launch of Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s RTC reduction strategy takes place at 12:30pm on Monday, April 20 at Fire Headquarters, Old London Road, Hertford.