Fire Car
Fire Car is a road safety product run by Essex County Fire and Rescue Service to engage with and educate road users.
The Fire Car is an Audi S3 performance car generously donated to the Service by Group 1 Audi in Chelmsford. The vehicle is appropriately branded to identify it as being part of the Fire Service with a road safety design closely matched with our Community Wheels vehicle.
Significant, and growing, issues with street racing activities have been experienced in several locations around Essex, which have required robust Police enforcement activities. These activities present a risk not only to the drivers but also to others who often gather in significant numbers to spectate.
The Fire Car primarily (though not necessarily exclusively) targets young 18 - 35 year old performance car (‘cruiser car’) enthusiasts, who are amongst the highest risk road user groups. Fire Car is a unique product in Essex to directly engage with this target audience.
Fire Car has provided the opportunity to positively engage and educate these road users, using the publicly respected and trusted ECFRS ‘brand’.
The purpose of the Fire Car is to attract the interest of road users (predominantly male) who aspire to own this kind of vehicle, to enable a discussion about the car and its potential performance and then to educate and inform the audience about risk and consequence whilst driving on the roads.
The Fire Car is used with the intention of achieving a genuine two-way dialogue with drivers, passengers and event spectators and influencing behaviour around the following messages:
- Being a responsible driver
- Understanding risk and consequence
- Sharing the road
- Avoiding inappropriate road behaviour
- Preventing anti-social and dangerous driving
If you are holding an event and wish the Fire Car to attend, please contact our road safety team at rtc.reduction@essex-fire.gov.uk