GEM Road Safety Charity confirms successful grant recipients in its latest funding round

The GEM Road Safety Charity has approved five applications worth a total of £33,500 in its most recent funding round. Grants will go to the Devon Air Ambulance, Gloucestershire Older Persons Association and the Queen Elizabeth Foundation, as well as to two FirstCar projects.

Devon Air Ambulance Trust has been awarded £4,500 towards its project which will identify and classify injury patterns across different road user types, and will determine the proportion of injuries deemed potentially survivable by an expert clinical panel. From this the Trust will deliver actionable recommendations for improving road safety and trauma care systems.

Gloucestershire Older Persons Association (GOPA) has been awarded £10,000 to assist with stage one of a four-stage redevelopment and relaunch of the Older Drivers Forum.

FirstCar receives £2500 to support its collaborative TikTok channel, dedicated to educating young drivers about road safety. Additionally, The Honest Truth (part of FirstCar) has been awarded £6,500 to assist in developing coaching skills for driving instructors.

The Queen Elizabeth Foundation has been awarded £10,000 to support the establishment of a driving theory test classroom, supporting groups of 10 disabled students at a time to learn driving theory in person or remotely. The Foundation supports almost 10,000 disabled people each year to achieve their potential and increase their independence.

Laura Ward, chair of the Charity, commented on the latest awards:

"We are pleased to congratulate the five successful applicants who have secured funding from the GEM Road Safety Charity. Out of 17 exceptional proposals, these projects stood out for their innovative approaches to enhancing road safety.

“We were impressed by the high standard of all submissions, reflecting the dedication and creativity of those working tirelessly to make our roads safer. We look forward to seeing the results these projects will deliver and are grateful for the opportunity to support such outstanding initiatives," she said.

Since it was established in 1985, the Charity has funded many projects which have aimed to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on the UK’s roads.

More recently these have included:

· A grant to the National Young Rider Forum for the production of videos to address knowledge gaps in knowledge of the Highway Code and road traffic law. The videos are aimed primarily at those with very little experience as motorised road users on busy urban roads. They will also help gig economy1 riders for whom English may not be their first language.

· A grant to Eye Health UK to support the production of a guide to vision and driving. This will highlight the legal eyesight standards, the importance of routine eye tests, an overview of prescription and non-prescription eyewear and tips for drivers on how to adapt driving behaviour to combat vision deficiencies.

A new funding window is due to open in the Autumn of 2025. Further information on applying for a grant, including a new ‘how to apply’ video and an online application form, can be found at roadsafety.org.uk.

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