Members educated on dangers of driving

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service joined forces with the Professional Cricketers’ Association to deliver a drive safely workshop to all 18 counties as part of the PCA Personal Development and Welfare Programme.

The 90-minute intervention programme was designed to educate and inform participants, in this case professional cricketers, of the potential hazards they may face when driving on the road.

The presentation emphasised the four fatal things that are more likely cause an accident including; driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, speeding, not wearing seatbelts and the use of mobile phones.

The education focused on a series of emotional videos and ended with all players wearing a virtual reality headset with the wearer totally immersed as the front seat passenger. The poor decision making of the driver and other passengers is experienced as well as a crash and the aftermath of being cut out of the vehicle by the fire brigade in a hard hitting presentation.

With the majority of county players driving themselves to games round the country and then home, sometimes after a four-day County Championship fixture, reaffirming best practice behind the wheel was a priority for the PCA during the 2018 pre-season.

PCA President, Graham Gooch was in attendance as Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service delivered to Essex County Cricket Club at Chelmsford. The President’s appearance was a significant one as he was witnessing the session for the first time after his generous donation helped to fund the education.

The former England captain donated £50,000 to the PCA Professional Cricketers’ Trust to celebrate the PCA’s 50th anniversary in 2017 with funds already sourcing gambling education workshops with specialist provider EPIC Risk Management.

A long supporter of the PCA Personal Development and Welfare Programme, he expressed the importance of education for all present cricketers.

“I previously made a donation to the PCA because I believe in what the PCA as an association stands for in supporting current and past cricketers,” said Gooch.

“A lot of what was witnessed today was really graphic and hopefully everyone in that room will take away that little bit of knowledge from today with them.”

PCA Representative, Jamie Porter was also in attendance with the full Essex first-team squad as they engaged in presentations as well as virtual reality headsets that allowed the players’ to experience a crash in a real life situation.

Porter, who was presented with the NatWest PCA Young Player of the Year last season, believes these early season tutorials are helpful in growing players understanding of things outside of cricket.

“You spend a lot of time in the car and there’s a lot of things that you don’t think about that cropped up in that meeting. It really does open your eyes to the potential dangers out there,” said the seam bowler.

“It’s an eye opener because there are a lot of young lives lost at the wheel of a car and no one wants to become part of that statistic.”

The 360 virtual reality road safety film is the first of its kind in Europe and is now being used in over 20 countries worldwide, with all 18 first-class counties now added to the list.

Paul Speight, Watch Manager of Leicestershire Fire and Rescue has been across several of the workshops and feels the addition of education professional cricketers is integral.

“We want to reduce the number of people who are killed or seriously injured on out roads through education,” said Speight.

“Young professional sportsmen could have the means to be driving around as new inexperienced drivers in top of the range high powered cars. The aim is not to preach to them, but to make them aware of the possible consequences of poor decision making whilst driving.

“The presentation is also aimed at the more experienced drivers as well with bad habits likely to be picked up over several years of driving.”