Behaviour that leads to road deaths can easily be avoided

Each year Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue (LFR) deals with the destruction caused by fatal behaviours on the roads – speed, drink/drugs, carelessness, distraction and not wearing a seatbelt.

These are known as the Fatal 5 and today marks the start of LFR’s Christmas themed month of enforcement, which will see both marked and unmarked cars, focusing on routes with a high volume of traffic where it sees the greatest numbers of serious and fatal collisions. This activity will dovetail with the police Operation Limit campaign to tackle drink/drug driving.

"Now winter has started we need to be paying extra attention to how we drive - that could be a quick trip shopping in a busy town centre or a longer journey on one of our rural roads," said John Hardy of Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue.

"Our Christmas campaign invites you to join Santa as he prepares to deliver his presents safely by making sure, he doesn’t speed, get distracted, everyone in the sleigh has their seat belts on, he’s not drinking eggnog and he’s not riding his sleigh in a careless way.

"It’s a bit of a light-hearted way to raise awareness of a serious issue around this time of year. We call it the Fatal 5 for a reason, so please make sure to follow the advice and have a safe Christmas and New Year."

Penalties for committing a Fatal 5 offence include a criminal record, a maximum of six months in prison, points on your licence and a fine - causing a fatal collision could mean life imprisonment.

Inspector Jason Baxter of Lincolnshire Police said, “It’s extremely frustrating and deeply tragic that these potentially fatal behaviours are so easily avoided. 

“We want people to understand the consequences – not only of being caught, but also the risks of causing a collision resulting in serious injury or death.

“There’s huge support from the public for this type of enforcement activity and it’s a vital element to keeping our roads safe. When you take risks, you are not just taking those risks on behalf of yourself, you are taking them on behalf of everyone using our roads. We make no apology for taking action to penalise those who break the law, putting themselves and others at risk. Lincolnshire is a big county and we can’t be everywhere, but we want to get across the message that we could be anywhere.” 

Simon Outen-Coe, of the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership, said, “In 2023, 48 people were killed and 378 seriously injured on the roads of Lincolnshire.  The Fatal 5 offences are often a contributory factor in those collisions and the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership, through its initiatives, remain determined to make our roads safer through: education; training; preventative activities; engineering interventions; and supporting Lincolnshire Police in its enforcement activities.  

“Those figures reflect an enormous amount of distress affecting a huge number of individuals within our communities and we should all play our part in ensuring that we use the roads safely, which can be accomplished by taking the Fatal 5 pledge.”

The #Fatal5Pledge is

• I will not drink/drug drive.
• I will not speed.
• I will not be distracted.
• I will not be careless.
• I will wear a seatbelt.