“Zero deaths on the roads” – that is the message from police and their partners as they join a European-wide bid to reduce casualties on the roads.

North Wales Police have made a road safety pledge for Project Edward’s ‘European Day Without a Road Death’ campaign – which has been devised by TISPOL (the European Traffic Police Network) to draw attention to the average of 70 deaths occurring every single day on the roads of Europe.

The road safety day of action is being held on Thursday, 26^th September and police forces and law enforcement agencies from across Europe are all playing their part by raising awareness about of the consequences of the most common dangerous behaviours by drivers and encouraging people to sign up to a simple road safety pledge.

Chief Superintendent Neill Anderson, Head of the Operational Support Services at North Wales Police said: “Reducing casualties remains a priority for North Wales Police. We want to encourage all road users to think about their driving and how this can be improved for their own and others’ safety.

“Project Edward helps to emphasise this by encouraging every road user to reflect on their attitudes and behaviour and think about their safety on the roads – whether they are drivers, motorcyclists, pedestrian, cyclists or horse riders.

“Aspects of bad driving all combine to make our roads unsafe with speeding, driving without a seatbelt, using a mobile phone, drugs, alcohol and dangerous driving being the Fatal 5 elements which influence this.

“That is why we focus on those that flout the law and are a danger to themselves and others, we need to get the message out there that death on the roads is unacceptable. All road users must play their part and make the extra effort to look out for each other.”

Chief Supt Anderson added: “Sadly North Wales is not immune to fatal and serious collisions, we have already seen far too many tragedies on our roads over recent months. The emergency services see first-hand the devastating consequences of road traffic collisions, and the impact they have on loved ones and those left behind trying to pick up the pieces. One of the hardest jobs a police officer has to do is visit relatives to tell them a loved one has died. It is that much harder for relatives to deal with when that death could have been easily prevented.”

Colleagues from other emergency services have also combined forces to publicly make the pledge to support Project Edward.

Dermot O’Leary, Clinical Team Leader and Road Safety Champion for the Welsh Ambulance Service said: "Crews attend‎ too many road traffic collisions and see too many deaths and serious injuries on the roads of North Wales. That's why we're joining with North Wales Police and the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service in supporting Project EDWARD on September 26th. Join us and pledge to make death on the road a thing of the past.”

Justin Evans, Head of Community Safety for North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said:

“As firefighters, we witness first-hand the terrible aftermath of road traffic collisions. Our roads can be dangerous places, resulting in serious injuries or even death.

“By changing our driving behaviour we can help to make our villages, towns and cities safer places to be. Every action that we take, as a driver or as a passenger, can change the outcome of a journey and the future of a family. We fully support Project Edward which aims to improve safety on our roads.”

Targeted police enforcement around the Fatal 5 offences will continue across the region and social media users can follow the #ProjectEdward hashtag to learn more about the campaign.

Further information is available via the website http://www.projectedward.eu or follow them on social media via @ProjectEdward