Welsh Ambulance Service Trust backs Road Safety Week 2020

THE Welsh Ambulance Service Trust is backing national Road Safety Week 2020 and championing the use of a ground-breaking app.

Launched back in 2013 the What3Words app can help emergency and recovery services locate you to within a three square metre radius should an accident or breakdown occur on the highways – or in fact any situation.

The app creators have mapped the entire planet and sectioned it into three metre squares and each square has a unique three word sequence attached to it.

Once activated, the app will source your exact location and give you a three word sequence, ‘Wild – Coffee – Bike’ for example, and even if you’re lost, quoting this to the emergency or recovery services will allow them to pinpoint you and send help to exactly the right spot.

Kate Blackmore, Clinical Contact Centre Area Manager for the Welsh Ambulance Service said: “This Road Safety Week we would urge people to download the What3Words app to their phones and always ensure they travel with it.

“Should the worst happen out on the roads, especially with Wales’ rural terrain, the app can help us and other emergency services identify your location as quickly as possible through an easy to use phrase.

“The app works anywhere in the world and in multiple languages including Welsh, you can even find your current location without a data connection, eliminating the panic of describing your location in an emergency situation.”

Road Safety Week was founded in 1997 by Brake, the road safety charity to promote steps everybody can take to stop needless accidents and injuries on the UK’s roads.

This year’s theme is ‘No Need To Speed’ and someone who knows all too well about the dangers of excessively fast motoring is Welsh Ambulance Service paramedic and Clinical Team Leader, Dermot O’Leary.

Dermot runs the highly successful Deadly Impacts road safety campaign in North Wales along with Police and Fire colleagues and regularly visits schools and colleges to educate young people about the dangers of speeding via workshops and lectures.

He said: “We are fully behind the 2020 Road Safety Week message as excessive speed is number one in what we call the Fatal Five: Excessive speed, anti-social driving, no seatbelts, drink or drug-driving and using a mobile phone whilst driving.

“As the nights and weather close in, driving conditions inevitably worsen and the risk of accidents increases.

“We are always here, but we don’t want to be seeing you in an unnecessary road accident, so stay below the speed limit, keep your distance and check your vehicle is winter ready.”

For more information on Road Safety Week click here and to download What3Words visit your App Store.