MSPs debate Safe Drive, Stay Alive at Holyrood

A handful of elected members signalled their support to those volunteers who have organised the week-long roadshow for the last ten years.

Many noted that the project remains under threat due to budget cuts, but called on the councils in Stirling and Clackmannanshire to join Falkirk in continuing to fund the shows.

After the Central Safe Drive group revealed the project may be cancelled due to funding cuts, the Advertiser launched its #KeepSafeDrive campaign to ensure its message is retained for future generations.

Three MSPs then lodged motions at Holyrood, and the issue was then discussed at length in the chamber last Wednesday.

Click here to watch the full Safe Drive, Stay Alive debate.

The debate was led by Alexander Stewart MSP who declared the debate an opportunity to "acknowledge the wonderful work" undertaken by the team and to consider the "challenges that the project faces".

He added: "We recognise that organising an event of this nature costs money. The regional campaign has a budget of about £23,000 to put on the event and, in the past, it has received funding from the three local authorities in the former Central Scotland regional council area.

"That funding is now in jeopardy, and there have been some discussions about how we progress the campaign at a time when councils are looking at their budgets and reducing some of their input.

"I recently found out that Stirling Council is very supportive of the project and will continue to provide funding. I welcome that, as the council is putting its money where its mouth is.

"At a budget meeting in Falkirk last week, councillors rubber-stamped costs towards running a week-long road safety awareness campaign.

"However, there have been some issues with Clackmannanshire Council, which has had a few of its own troubles in recent times.

"We have to keep a watchful eye on what is happening in that council area, because we need to ensure that it fits in and completes the jigsaw.

"I hope that the debate highlights the importance of this project in the lives of our young people. It is essential that we all work together across the chamber to ensure that this important project, and the opportunities that it offers to young people, will continue across the region that I represent and throughout Scotland.

"We must do all that we can to maintain, sustain and retain this invaluable lesson in road safety."

Alex Rowley, deputy leader of Scottish Labour, also submitted a motion to parliament, and spoke passionately about the positive impact Safe Drive, Stay Alive had on him when he attended the Macrobert Arts Centre last month.

He once again paid tribute to the courage of the show's volunteer survivors Jennifer Howie and David Galloway who relive the trauma of their experience every time they take to the stage.

The MSP added: "Concern has been expressed about funding. I have written to the three councils in the area, all of which have come back to me with very positive responses, stating their commitment to future funding. That is important

"We need co-ordination to ensure that the hard-working group is not having to run around trying to get funding."

Mark Ruskell, the third MSP to lodged a motion, demonstrated his support for #KeepSafeDrive by helping to garner signatures for the Advertiser's petition.

He added: "Safe drive, stay alive is an exemplar project that deserves to be built on and given longer-term funding security. I hope that all the councils and other agencies will work together to deliver that funding.

A handful of other elected members also contributed and gave their support for road safety initiatives such as Safe Drive, Stay Alive.

David Torrance SNP MSP for Kirkcaldy said: "Road safety awareness can be a tricky subject to navigate in an educational setting. Safe Drive, Stay Alive does a tremendous job of balancing the tragic nature of road-related collisions with what can be done to prevent them.

"After seeing the physical and emotional damage that is done by road-related collisions, students depart from the event understanding the harrowing effects of dangerous driving and committed to preventing reckless driving."

Liam Kerr, MSP for the North-East region, added: "Any project that educates any driver, let alone teenagers and young adults, on complacency, recklessness or dangerous activity behind the wheel and, of course, the outcomes and impacts of that behaviour, must be supported."

Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian also said: "Until there are no accidents on our roads, there will still be too many. I hope that this debate shows us what can be done through campaigns such as Safe Drive, Stay Alive.

Closing the debate, Transport Minister Humza Yousaf told the chamber of the Scottish Government's ambitions to eradicate road deaths in the country, with successful educational programmes a clear pathway to achieving that.

He said: "I thank all those who have been involved in the Safe Drive, Stay Alive project, the details of which we have heard from members. We are committed to using such interventions, which help us to meet the aims of the road safety framework."

He added: "We will continue to work closely with local authorities and our road safety partners to improve safety on our roads and to equip young people to be safe and responsible drivers for the future. We hope that that will allow us to get to the point at which there are no fatalities on our roads."