Longcliffe Quarries host ‘hard-hitting’ road safety event

Metropolitan Police partner with Longcliffe to target commercial vehicle safety with award-winning talk

LONGCLIFFE Quarries Ltd have partnered with the Metropolitan Police to deliver an award-winning safety talk to more than 100 Derbyshire-based HGV drivers and other transport professionals. The campaign, which launched in 2022, aims to support safe working practices and keep drivers updated on changes to road traffic laws.

The event, hosted by Longcliffe at their Curzon Lodge Transport Depot, near Matlock, involved representatives from many local companies, including Ben Bennetts, Riva Transport, Hartshorne Motor Services, T J Twigg Haulage, Tarmac, and Walkers of Ashbourne. Longcliffe offered four sessions over two days with the invitation open to local companies who operate commercial vehicles.

It included a hard-hitting ‘Toolbox Talk’ from the Met Police which covered areas such as driver well-being and the support available, roadside checks, load security and myth busting around commercial vehicle enforcement.

This project – the brainchild of the Met Police’s Inspector Richard Wenham – has already involved more than 55,000 drivers across the UK and is having a hugely positive effect.

Inspector Wenham explained: ‘Although I am a Met Police officer and London’s roads are my home territory, this Toolbox Talk is already having an impact on national road death involving commercial vehicles. In London we have seen a reduction from 34 to 11 in the last two years and a national reduction of 12%.

‘The project is about working with industry to promote the best working practices and help keep drivers and other road users safe. We were delighted when Longcliffe invited us to present the talk, not only to their own logistics team, but to drivers representing a wide range of other local companies who operate commercial vehicles in the area. By hosting an open event like this, they have enabled us to reach 100 more drivers with important messages and guidance.’

Longcliffe group managing director Paul Boustead said: ‘We are very much focused on safety and that doesn’t just mean within our operations; it also covers our business out on the roads when delivering to customers. We are always looking for ways to refresh our drivers’ training and ensure both their and other road users’ safety is top of mind.

‘We are delighted with the success of this event. Working with the Met Police to help them spread their ‘Toolbox Talk’ messages to Derbyshire-based drivers has been an extremely positive partnership.’

Inspector Wenham added: ‘Included in the presentation was an important section on driver well-being. Almost half of commercial vehicle-related death involves a deliberate act on the part of the deceased, ie suicide by truck. This led to a large section being devoted not only to suicide awareness, but also to driver well-being, especially post incident. In the talk we offer advice and signpost organizations drivers can turn to for support.

‘The presentation covers a variety of subjects and aims to educate, support, and empower drivers. We hope the drivers who attended this event went away with important information that will help keep them and other road users safe.’