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SkillZONE and Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service win national award

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SkillZONE, a state-of-the-art village safety education environment and Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service's Prevention Team, have collaboratively won a prestigious national award for their work in preventing road deaths and reducing pollution.

They were delighted to receive the Public Sector Driver Safety Award at this year's Brake’s UK Fleet Champions Awards 2024.

The awards celebrate the hard work and dedication of fleet organisations striving to prevent road deaths and injuries and reduce pollution caused by their vehicles.

With the Public Sector Driver Safety category, SkillZONE highlighted that there was a need for more awareness among high-risk groups, including young people, about road safety issues. This was particularly impactful, considering that young drivers are statistically more prone to road accidents. By targeting this demographic with tailored interventions and practical skills training, SkillZONE aimed to mitigate risks and promote safer behaviours on the road.

The teams also achieved a ‘Highly Commended’ in the Road Safety in the Community Award. With this category, SkillZONE showed that with interactive simulations, including realistic street scenarios with traffic lights, pavements, buses, cars, and bicycles, it offered a unique and engaging learning environment. By making road safety education compulsory for all visitors, the initiative ensured that thousands of individuals annually received vital life-saving messages and practical skills.

Cllr Dave Norman, Gloucestershire County Council cabinet member with responsibility for the Fire and Rescue Service, said: “I’m delighted that these initiatives have received the recognition they deserve. It’s great to see that the hard work has been recognised at a national level – well done to everyone involved.”

Madeleine Jarrett, SkillZONE manager said: “Congratulations and thank you to all the hard-working staff that were involved with the project. We are deeply committed to advancing road safety and life-saving education throughout Gloucestershire, so it’s great that the award has highlighted the need for effective road safety education.”

The entries were judged by an independent panel of experts and announced at a ceremony on 3 October at New Dock Hall at the Royal Armouries in Leeds.