![](https://emergencyservicestimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ESS-Button-resized.png")
Brake, the road safety charity, has launched a new award recognising the work of emergency services personnel in improving road safety while carrying out their frontline duties.
The new Emergency Services Driver Safety Award will form part of the annual UK Fleet Champion Awards 2026, which celebrate organisations and individuals working to prevent road crashes and reduce pollution linked to work-related driving.
Sponsored by Zurich Resilience Solutions, the new category is aimed at recognising police, fire and rescue, ambulance and other emergency services teams that demonstrate the highest standards of driver safety, or those delivering initiatives that actively improve safety for staff operating on the roads.
Brake said it is encouraging entries from emergency services organisations that can demonstrate a clear impact through strong safety standards or innovative initiatives, supported by robust written policies for managing driver risk, as well as strict recruitment, testing and training processes for drivers.
The charity added that judges will also consider education and awareness campaigns that extend road safety messaging beyond staff, reaching wider communities.
Brake’s CEO Ross Moorlock said: “Around one in three road deaths in the UK, and a fifth of serious injuries, involve someone driving for work. Every year, Brake supports more than 2,000 families who have been bereaved or injured in a road crash, so we see first-hand the devastating impact of these crashes on everyone involved.”
He added: “We recognise the incredible work emergency services organisations do responding on the frontline, witnessing the trauma of road crashes in real time as they happen. As community ambassadors, they also have an incredibly important role to play in prevention, championing road safety and educating others.”
Moorlock said the new award is intended to recognise those “finding new and innovative ways to make our roads safer” and to give “blue light organisations that put safety first” the recognition they deserve.
Emergency services teams are also eligible to enter the Road Safety in the Community Award category, which highlights organisations improving wellbeing, community strength and sustainability through road safety-focused initiatives.
Last year’s winner in that category was Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, recognised for its special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) road safety programme, including the SkillZONE immersive learning environment, designed to deliver interactive, real-world safety education.
Entries for the 2026 awards are open until Friday 1 May, with winners to be announced at a ceremony at New Dock Hall in Leeds on Wednesday 30 September 2026. Find out more here.
To read similar articles, check out our Frontline channel.
