[22
MAR 00] WARWICKSHIRE CONSTABULARY NEWS
Sky Blues Stars Given Driving Tips
Coventry City footballers received
coaching of a different kind when they were given a hard-hitting
message about the importance of safe driving.
Bereaved parent Paul Kerr was one of
the people to speak to the players at the Ryton training ground to
tell them of the horrors of losing his son in a car accident.
Jon Paul Kerr was killed when he was
travelling in the front passenger seat of a Ford Escort which failed
to stop at a junction along the road between Stoneleigh and Finham in
Coventry in May 1992.
The vehicle left the road and hit a
tree. Jon Paul, aged 17, took the main impact and died. The other two
passengers and the driver survived.
Mr Kerr spoke to the players as part of
a unique course run by Warwickshire police to make sure youngsters and
companies in the county know the part they can play in making the
streets safer.
It is believed to be the first time
that a sports club has called in specialist help to advise their
players on what they should and shouldn’t do when they get behind
the wheel.
 First
team stars including Robbie Keane, Steve Froggatt and David Burrows
and youth team players all listened in to sessions run by officers.
Sky Blues boss Gordon Strachan said it
was important to give the footballers support because of the lifestyle
they were exposed to.
He said one of the first things that
many trainees did when they were signed by the club and started
receiving good wages was to buy a car.
Strachan said:
“As a club we are very aware
that our responsibility to players doesn’t start and end with
football.
“The
lifestyle of professional footballers is often in the spotlight and
the way they behave can affect young fans who see their footballing
heroes as role models.
“By participating in the road
safety courses, players will not only learn about safety on the
roads, but will also be delivering their own road safety
messages.”
Warwickshire police merged two courses
that they take around the county to give Coventry City players the
information they need to become safe drivers.
The Astra project usually tours schools
to tell teenagers about the different perils they face as they become
drivers.
It gives them tips on buying their
first car and reminds them of the maintenance they will need to carry
out to make sure it is safe and legal to drive.
The players were also given information
usually passed to company drivers in a project called Fleetsafe, which
runs through issues including car care, motorway driving, drink
driving and the procedure to follow after an accident or breakdown.
Since
1990, 521 people have been killed in road accidents in the county, and
7011 have been seriously injured. Last year 51 people lost their lives
and this year seven have died following road accidents.
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