Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service’s road safety team won recognition at this year’s Defence Road Safety Awards.

The team received a crystal trophy and certificate from the Deputy Director General of the Defence Safety Authority, Rear Admiral Thomas Manson OBE, at the ceremony held at RAF Benson.

Up to 40 per cent of military personnel in the UK can be based in Dorset and Wiltshire at any one time. So the fire service partnered with the MoD in 2018 to deliver Survive the Drive.

During the pandemic, theatre-style presentations had to be cancelled, so the road safety team developed a virtual presentation, which was seen by around 3,000 military personnel.

Road safety manager Christine Sharma said: “In 2019, after cancer and operational accidents, land-based collisions were the third highest cause of death in the UK armed forces, accounting for 20 per cent of mortality rates. As such, the Survive the Drive presentation is an essential education tool, which has been well received since it started three years ago.

“Much like our flagship schools programme, Safe Drive Stay Alive, the intervention uses film and the personal testimony of speakers to educate military personnel on the most common causes of death and serious injury on our roads – including using mobile phones while driving, driving after drinking or using drugs, speeding, driving when fatigued, and not wearing a seat belt.

“However, Survive the Drive also focuses on the unique challenges facing military personnel, who perhaps don’t always recognise the dangers of our roads when they have been trained in warzone scenarios. We also highlight the ‘ripple effect’ of road traffic collisions, and how such incidents can be devastating to the individuals involved, their loved ones, their colleagues and the wider community. We are delighted and honoured to have been recognised for our work.”