POLICE are raising awareness of road safety as part of a European day aimed at reducing casualties on the road.

European Day Without A Road Death (Edward) will be observed on Thursday by Sussex Police.

Road safety officers will be visiting schools and universities, as well as dedicated patrols on the road.

Chief inspector Warren Franklin of the Surrey and Sussex Roads Policing Unit said: “Whilst we aim to have zero road deaths for the whole year round, if we can achieve this one day fatality free, this can begin to change the current public perception that casualties when driving are just something we have to accept.

“Driving is such a normalised way of life and we frequently don’t consider how to improve our skills here or think about our journeys in the way they should be treated, which is potentially life-threatening.

“In total in 2015, there were 1,732 road deaths in the UK. Although these figures sound high – and they are – we are still one of the leading countries for road safety in Europe. We need to build upon this expertise and this position to get the number of road deaths down, improve the knowledge and awareness of road safety in both our country and county, and encourage others to do the same.”

In Surrey and Sussex, 84 people died in collisions in 2016. For more information visit projectedward.eu.