Graphic attempt to reinforce road safety

Constable Sid Henry from the Road Safety Unit and Crew Commander George Watson from Carrickfergus Fire Station during a road safety event held at the harbour car park. INCT 44-106-GR

Only one high performance vehicle passed a sound test during a car safety event held in Carrickfergus harbour car park.

The checks were carried out by Carrickfergus Borough Council’s Environmental Health department as part of an educational initiative by the PSNI, Carrickfergus Road Safety Committee and Carrick Car Cruise Club.

Speaking after the event, PSNI Area Commander, Chief Inspector Stephen Reid said: “Around 300 people, including 150 members of the local Carrick Car Cruise Club, attended the event in the harbour car park and heard from a range of individuals and agencies involved in promoting road safety and from those involved in dealing with the aftermath of collisions.

“Colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service even staged a ‘cut out’ rescue from a crashed Renault Clio, supplied by PSNI, to show how harrowing the reality of a crash can be.

“With the number of people killed on our roads so far in 2014 already exceeding that for the whole of 2013, the local Neighbourhood Policing Team, in collaboration with Carrickfergus Borough Council Road Safety Committee, decided to organise an event to raise awareness locally of issues of road safety.”

Road Policing Unit education officer Constable Sid Henry also attended with the PSNI’s modified Mitsubishi Evo 8 demonstration car and presented a road safety video to the crowd.

CI Reid added: “A number of high performance vehicles were sound checked on the night by local Environmental Health Officers, with just one of the twenty tested passing the test.