One of Britain’s best known and most successful rally co-drivers, Nicky Grist – and the pace note voice on the Colin McRae Rally PlayStation and Xbox games – is lending his support to this month’s GoSafe “20mph Rule Outside Schools” campaign.
The Welshman scored 17 (of his 21) World Rally victories with McRae – eight with Subaru (including the 1997 RAC Rally) and nine with Ford. He has also co-driven for Juha Kankkunen, Armin Schwarz and Malcolm Wilson, culminating in 48 podium finishes during a glittering World Rally Championship career. Living in Abergavenny, he now owns Nicky Grist Motorsports – a highly successful company that is dedicated to supplying the very best in motorsport safety equipment. Nicky’s passion for helping to keep competitors safe on racing circuits and rally stages is mirrored by his belief that driving at speed is strictly for a control motorsport environment only, and definitely not for the open public road.
The “20mph Rule Outside Schools” campaign is being re-launched in June to focus on making roads safer in communities. It is principally aimed at reducing risk to young persons and supporting local communities, and GoSafe, the Wales Road Casualty Reduction Partnership, will be enforcing in 20mph areas outside schools, educating drivers about the importance of adhering to the relevant speed limit.
Chris Hume, Partnership Manager, GoSafe said: “Our continued focus on 20mph limits around schools is part of our commitment to safer communities, and to protect the most vulnerable road users; our children. 20mph speed limits are a routine part of everyday driving now, but we still see flagrant discard of those limits, particularly at key times such as when children are going to and from schools. We want the support of all drivers, and we want compliance with 20mph limits to become the norm. Our aim is for everyone in Wales to understand the effects that those exceeding the 20mph limit can have on family and friends.”
Nicky Grist said: “The lives that we all lead today just seem to get busier and faster, but regardless of the pace of modern day life it is absolutely essential that we don’t take risks on the open public road. I’ve lived life on the edge during my motorsport career, but nothing scares me more than motorists who speed and don’t pay enough attention behind the steering wheel. It’s essential that we all slow down and adhere to speed limits, especially around schools – and that’s why I’m delighted to support the “20mph Rule Outside Schools” campaign. It’s a very worthy, and potentially life-saving, cause that we should all champion.”
