IAM RoadSmart advocates better road sharing and greater tolerance of all road users on Road Safety Week

With Road Safety Week starting today (running from 21-27 November) the UK’s biggest independent road safety charity IAM RoadSmart says it’s time to ditch the stereotypes of ‘who is the better driver’ … men or women, young or old – and work together to make our roads safer.

Sarah Sillars, IAM RoadSmart chief executive officer, said: “He cut me up; she didn’t look before pulling out! So often we hear about how all the problems are caused by this or that type of person and it’s usually someone else’s fault. The fact is everyone has a right to use the road and sharing that responsibility and exercising tolerance gets us all to where we want to be, quicker.

“We need to stop blaming others for what we see as their errors, often based on their age, gender, or what they are driving or riding. Instead let’s work together and focus on how we can all improve our own road use to create a safer, happier environment.”

Two groups we can all be inclined to stereotype are older and younger drivers. So to celebrate these drivers and let them show just how good they can be IAM RoadSmart is giving away 15 grandparent-grandchild pairs of free driver assessments.

The package for each winning grandparent-grandchild pair will consist of one regular driver assessment and one mature driver assessment (combined value £98).

For the pair to be in with a chance of winning one of these packages, entrants must briefly explain why driving is important to them.

Sarah added: “Our competition is all about embracing the best of what each generation has to offer on the road. We want to stop the blame culture and start working together.”

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Notes to editors:

Entry to the competition is as follows: Either grandparent or grandchild can submit an entry.

If using Twitter, entrants should use the hashtag #drivingthroughtheages and if you want to make your submission longer, you are welcome to split it across several numbered tweets. Our Twitter handle is @IAMRoadSmart.

If using Facebook, entrants are free to post their entry direct to the IAM RoadSmart wall at https://www.facebook.com/IAMRoadSmart  

If using email please send your entry to events@iam.org.uk. Pictures are welcomed and encouraged.

Further information from:

IAM RoadSmart press office – 020 8996 9777 – press.office@iam.org.uk           

ISDN broadcast lines available

Follow us:

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/IAMRoadSmart          

On Twitter: @IAMRoadSmart  

IAM RoadSmart has a mission to make better drivers and riders in order to improve road safety, inspire confidence and make driving and riding enjoyable. It does this through a range of courses for all road users, from online assessments through to the advanced driving and riding tests. IAM RoadSmart is the trading name of all businesses operated by the UK’s largest road safety charity, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and was formed in April 2016 combining the IAM, IAM Drive & Survive, PDS and IAM Driver Retraining Academy. The organisation has 92,000 members and campaigns on road safety on their behalf. At any one time there are over 7,000 drivers and riders actively engaged with IAM RoadSmart’s courses, from members of the public to company drivers, while our Driver Retraining Academy has helped 2,500 drivers to shorten their bans through education and support programmes.

To find out more about IAM RoadSmart products and services visit the new website www.iamroadsmart.com          

To find out the name of your own local IAM RoadSmart group please visit: https://wwwiamroadsmart.com/local-groups            

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