UK Power Network’s ‘drive to arrive’ safety scheme has been reiterated to drivers during Road Safety Week.

Introduced last year to 400 staff, ‘drive to arrive’ was brainchild of former firefighter Simon Deeley who has turned his own tragic past experiences into a driver awareness programme.

In his previous job, he assisted a dying man following a car incident, and in 2015 a colleague at UK Power Networks died in a car crash outside work.

The programme Deeley designed includes awareness days that send hard-hitting messages and real-life examples of the dangers of unsafe driving.

Topics included speeding, seat belts, mobile phones, motor bikes and peer pressure. The days finished with a letter from a UK Power Networks’ employee who lost his wife in a road incident. The letter was hidden under the chairs of attendees and they were asked to read it in their own time.

While Deeley no longer gives the talks in person, UK Power Networks runs bespoke driving training for its foundation apprentices who are only permitted to take the wheel after a year with the company.

Deeley said: “At UK Power Networks thousands of our staff drive as part of their job, be it accessing sites for project and maintenance work, as well as responding to power cuts, so it’s vital safe driving practices are understood and encouraged.

“Following the incident in 2015, I wanted to put together more road safety training. I called on my ten years’ experience as a firefighter in the Suffolk Fire Service and tried to come up with an interesting way to inform people about the importance of safe driving.

“I started my own talks on the subject with the true life incident that I attended where a young person died – something that still plays on my mind to this day. I’m glad the talks proved a success and hope there is a legacy with the material we produced now being available for use as required.”

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