The Department of Infrastructure officially launched the TT 2012 road safety campaign at the Glen Helen Inn this morning (Thursday 17th May).
The campaign, a joint initiative with the Isle of Man Constabulary, features a series of images of bikers riding around the famous Mountain course in various hazardous situations. The strapline ‘Stay alert. Stay alive’ delivers a concise and hard hitting message and the words ‘think’ and ‘slow’ are highlighted within the image to reinforce the message.
Minister for Infrastructure David Cretney MHK said: ‘In the past we have focused on the devastating scenes of the aftermath of an accident. This year we have decided that it is important to highlight the circumstances in which these accidents can happen and try to stop preventable collisions from occurring. During TT fortnight it is easy to forget that the Mountain Course is an open road which is used by people going about their everyday business and both car drivers and bikers must be mindful of this and stay alert during the whole festival.’
As part of the TT road safety campaign, the one-way system on the Mountain Road is being re-introduced for the duration of the 2012 TT festival. In a change to previous years – the Mountain Road will be closing at 9.30am on Friday 25th and reopening later that same day one-way in the direction of the course. A general leaflet which includes information on the one-way system will soon be available from the Sea Terminal and other outlets. The road safety message will be reinforced by billboards on the TT course, radio advertisements and general information leaflets.
Mr Cretney continued: ‘All these details have been compiled in the general TT 2012 Road Safety information leaflet, which will be given out to visitors at every opportunity. We have also produced fact sheets and fun games for school children which will be distributed in schools as a downloadable file from the school’s computer system. Based on the information gathered at last year’s TT, that 20% of visitors were new to the festival, the Road Safety Team will also be staffing a number of Steam Packet sailings to the Island to reinforce the road safety message before visitors arrive. We would like to thank the Steam Packet for its cooperation with this.’
The TT Road Safety Campaign radio adverts will be broadcast on all local radio stations and will cover all aspects of road safety. As well as the all-important anti-drink driving message, they will remind residents to keep animals and domestic pets away from potentially dangerous situations on the roads, urge bikers to avoid stopping on bends, and advise all road users to look out for temporary speed limits in place for the duration of the TT.
Chief Constable Mike Langdon said: ‘The key aim of the Isle of Man Constabulary is “keeping people safe” and we will work hard to ensure that the people most likely to cause accidents are identified as early as possible and dealt with in a pro-active way whilst at the same time doing everything we can to prevent accidents and educate particularly visitors to the Island about potential hazards. The Constabulary wants everyone to enjoy the TT Festival and that is important to us, however my priority is the safety elements.’
