Road Safety
As an organisation we are committed to rescuing people from road traffic collisions (RTCs) when they occur on our roads.
Firefighters witness first-hand the lives completely destroyed as a result of RTCs, and so we appreciate the importance of providing educational programmes to try and stop these incidents from occurring. This is why, as well as responding operationally to RTCs, we deliver an educational programme ‘Your Choice’ aimed at reducing death and injury on our roads.
We also work in partnership with The Department for Infrastructure; the PSNI; and the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service to raise awareness of everyone’s personal responsibility to behave appropriately, every day, on every journey. More information can be found on the Share the Road to Zero website.
In 2020 we attended 569 RTCs and rescued 394 people who were trapped in their vehicles.
Your Choice
‘Your Choice’ is our free immersive educational programme for 16-24 year olds. It allows users to experience a road traffic collision through the use of virtual reality (VR) technology. It highlights to young drivers the dangers on our roads and what can happen if things go wrong.
Through the ‘Your Choice’ VR goggles, the user is placed into a scenario where they, as a front seat passenger, experience poor decision making by the driver and other passengers. The user then witnesses a full 360° crash scene rescue with the arrival of the emergency services.
Each user is provided with a headset to experience the reality of being trapped in a vehicle and to observe up close the work of the emergency services at the scene of a RTC.
The VR experience is supported by a session during which students receive a presentation and discuss road safety messages directly related to the VR film they have just witnessed.
To find out more or to book a session – email yourchoice@nifrs.org.
This programme supports our Road Safety Strategy 2018-2021.
Feedback from ‘Your Choice’ participants-
“Very good presentation. It put into perspective how important it is to be safe when driving. This day will stick in my head.”
“It has opened my eyes to realise how little a distraction it takes for an accident to happen.”
