Stay safe message for students

Manchester City Council will be driving home the road safety message to students next week.

With Freshers Week starting on Monday 21 September 2009, the City Council's Road Safety Team will be hosting a stall at the University of Manchester on Wednesday 23 September 2009.

The stall will feature a driving simulator that tests hazard perception and recreates emergency braking on roads and motorways. Various leaflets and literature will be available to take away and there will be staff on hand who can discuss any issues of road or cycling safety.

This year students will also be invited to study the bottom of a glass, by donning a genuine pair of 'beer goggles' - specially designed glasses which show how drink affects vision. There will also be a chance to take part in a quiz which tests knowledge of alcohol limits as well as units per drink.

Councillor Richard Cowell, Executive Member for the Environment, Manchester City Council, says: "We want students coming to university for the first time to enjoy their new-found independence but it is easy for them to become over confident and careless about safety issues. We want to raise awareness of the risks they face as young road users and reduce the number of students killed or seriously injured as drivers, cyclists or pedestrians."

Statistics show that every year students are involved in collisions along Oxford Road, particularly during the autumn months with 30% of collisions happening between 10pm and 3am and nearly half of these collisions result in injuries to pedestrians.