Driver First Assist (DFA) has published a new white paper setting out the case for a structured national post-crash response system.

The white paper, Safer Roads: Stronger Communities, aims to support the Government’s new road safety strategy by focusing on one of the least developed but most time-critical aspects of road safety: what happens in the minutes immediately after a road traffic collision, before emergency services arrive.

The Government’s strategy formally adopts the Safe System, within which post-crash response is recognised as a core pillar.

While it does not set out a specific national post-crash response programme, DFA’s white paper aims to provide an already developed practical, scalable framework for delivery, focused on equipping drivers with the skills to respond safely, lawfully and effectively at the scene of road traffic collisions.

Beverley Bell, former GB Senior Traffic Commissioner and author of the white paper’s foreword, said: “The Government’s Road Safety Strategy rightly recognises that responsibility for safety is shared. This white paper shows how post-crash response, often the least developed part of the system, can be strengthened in a practical, proportionate way.

“Equipping drivers with the right skills is not only sensible, it is long overdue.”

The white paper argues that while prevention remains vital, road safety policy must also address the reality that professional and at-work drivers are already present on the road network every day, often arriving at incidents before emergency services.

With the proper training and support, this group represents a latent national capability to reduce harm, save lives and improve outcomes.

Further information:

https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/driver-first-assist-wants-focus-on-critical-minutes-after-a-crash