Blanau Gwent's road safety Youtube hit

A road safety message – part funded by Blaenau Gwent Council and starring pupils from Tredegar Comprehensive - has reached millions of people around the world.

COW – a film showing a dramatic fatal road crash resulting from a driver texting while at the wheel – has had more than five million hits on website YouTube. The full length version will be shown on the BBC in October.

The project was part funded by the Council through its 14-19 Learning Pathways programme as part of the safety education programme for schools. It was directed by Brynmawr’s Peter Watkins Hughes and filmed on location in Blaenau Gwent.

COW has attracted coverage from major Amercian news channels CNN, CBS, Fox News and the Washington Post.

Coun Steve Bard, the Council’s Executive Member for Education said:

“We are pleased to have played a part by backing this road safety education project – and proud that partnership working in Blaenau Gwent has helped get a vital safety message out to such a wide audience.”