A Cayman GT4 has been donated to the Norfolk Police force by the Lind Trust, a charity which supports the development of young people in Norwich and Norfolk. According to research, young drivers are disproportionately represented in fatal and serious collision statistics with 61 young drivers having lost their lives and 504 having suffered serious injury in Norfolk over the past five years.
This GT4 will be used by police at events such as the Royal Norfolk Show and taken to areas where car enthusiasts gather as well as being taken to schools and colleges around the county to engage with young people. The campaign was launched at Norwich Cathedral just a couple of days after the deaths of three teenagers, named locally as Dominic O’Neill, Kyle Warren and Billy Hines, following a crash at Pulham Market on Wednesday night.
Simon Bailey, Norfolk’s chief constable, said the families of all three involved in the tragedy were spoken to before going ahead with the launch.
He said: “If they hadn’t given their consent it (the launch) would’ve been deferred out of respect.
“They do support what we’re trying to do and I’m very grateful that they are.”
Mr Bailey said the campaign came about after he approached city entrepreneur Graham Dacre last year because he was “really concerned” about the number of young drivers being killed and seriously injured.
He said: “Engagement and education are vital elements of the work on road safety undertaken by roads policing officers.
“We hope the car will act as a conversation starter, which gives us the opportunity to engage with people, but more importantly those hard to reach groups like young drivers, and offer practical advice as well as describing what can happen when things go wrong.”
Mr Dacre said he thought it was a “great project” and that the Porsche was a tool that would really engage with young people.
Source: Eastern Daily Press