Police in Norfolk have been given a Porsche Cayman GT4, which will be used to break down barriers with young drivers and help officers deliver life-saving road safety advice.
The vehicle has been donated to the constabulary by the Lind Trust, a charity which supports the development of young people in Norwich and Norfolk. The GT4 has been donated to the force for two years for the purpose of engaging with motorists around road safety – young drivers in particular. Complete with police livery and interior blue lights, it will be at the forefront of police engagement and education with young drivers under the #Porsche999 hashtag. Young drivers are disproportionately represented in fatal and serious collision statistics; in Norfolk over the last five years 61 young drivers have lost their lives while 504 suffered serious injury.
Chief Constable Simon Bailey said, “Only this week we have seen the sad loss of three young lives in a road traffic collision in South Norfolk and my thoughts are with the families involved. Engagement and education are vital elements of the work on road safety undertaken by roads policing officers. I’m confident the use of the Porsche will help break down barriers and enable officers to speak with young drivers and provide road safety advice.”
He added, “The GT4 will certainly attract a lot of attention – but that’s the whole idea. We hope the car will acts 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.”
The GT4 will be used at events such as the Royal Norfolk Show and taken to areas where car enthusiasts are known to gather. The car will also be taken to schools and colleges throughout the county, taken to events/areas which are likely to draw crowds of young people. #Porsche999 will run alongside existing initiatives in the county which target young drivers including the Police and Crime Commissioners #Impact campaign and the Young Driver Education Presentation which is delivered in schools.
Graham Dacre, from the Lind Trust, said, “This is an important initiative to be involved in. The Porsche GT4 is every young drivers dream and it will be a talking point in their world; I can see them responding well to this initiative.”
