THERE was No Excuse when a company boss collected a speeding ticket, and now his entire workforce is getting advice on how to drive more safely on West Dorset’s roads.
Ashley Chant, managing director of Bridport building services firm AP Chant, was stopped by PC Graham Pinney of Dorset’s road policing team and heard about the force’s No Excuse initiative to make roads safer.
It comes as it is revealed Dorset Police’s Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNT) have been making full use of local knowledge and intelligence gathered from local residents to support the initiative.
The No Excuse team arranged a day of action with SNT colleagues from areas including Bridport, Sherborne, Weymouth, Blandford and Wareham. A number of marked and unmarked vehicles were used to detect more than 100 traffic offences.
As part of the education side of the campaign, drivers from AP Chant had a before-work briefing from police and road safety experts.
Mr Chant had approached the team, including PC Pinney, to come and talk to his staff at the company’s Gore Cross headquarters and the No Excuse team hopes that more businesses will come forward to do the same.
Mr Chant said: “I got a ticket for speeding from Graham and I thought about the things he told me and this seemed the right thing to do.”
The staff were asked to think about aspects of their driving and why it matters, by tackling the ‘fatal four’ – inappropriate or illegal speed, distractions including mobile phone use, the wearing of seatbelts, and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
They heard about the importance of making regular vehicle maintenance checks, and were asked to think about the devastating effects that unsafe driving can have.
Dorset’s road safety manager Robert Smith said: “One in three people killed on the roads are driving for work purposes “We want five-star roads, five-star vehicles and five-star drivers and the element we can do something about – and without huge cost – is the drivers.”
No Excuse project manager Brian Austin said that any other businesses wanting the team to visit them should make contact through dorsetroadsafe@dorsetpnn.police.uk
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