MANCHESTER, England, July 6 /PRNewswire/ --     Co-operative Insurance (CIS) celebrated success at this year's British
Insurance Awards, which were held on Wednesday 4th July at The Royal Albert
Hall in London, by winning the coveted Corporate & Social Responsibility
Project of the Year Award.

CIS entered the "Too Young To Die" project that forms a core part of our
'Responsible Driving' Campaign. The project saw CIS join forces with Brake,
the road safety charity, to produce a road safety education pack. The pack
called "Too Young to Die" is available to all educators' the aim of which to
target 2000 schools nationwide with an expected audience in excess of 600,000
pupils/students. The pack includes a hard-hitting DVD and accompanying
hand-out booklets plus a Department for Transport-backed presentation.

The pack is designed as a comprehensive resource to help educators run
lessons for 15-21 year-olds to raise awareness on how to stay alive on the
roads, and encourage them to act responsibly as drivers and passengers. It
outlines basic safe driving rules, such as not speeding, not driving after
drinking or taking drugs, not driving while tired or on a mobile phone and
also gives practical advice about vehicle maintenance.

It shows young people why these rules are so crucial and contains
first-hand accounts of the horrors of road crashes, from people who have 
been tragically bereaved or injured as a result.

The DVD describes in graphic detail the impact irresponsible driving has
on victims, their families and the emergency services, who are left to deal
with the consequences on a daily basis. The aim of the video is to raise
awareness and educate students about the impact dangerous driving has on so
many people's lives each year. It also highlights how young peoples own
behaviour contributes to loss of life and serious injury on our roads.

David Neave Director of General Insurance said: "To win an acolade such
as this is a fantastic achievement. To be recognised by the insurance
industry for such an important project re-afirms CIS's position as a leading
'responsible insurer'. The 'Too Young To Die' campaign is something that we
along with Brake hope to take even further to make a real impact on 
reducing the number of young driver casualties."

"This award represents the impact our campaign has had on various
communities and we are extremely proud of our achievements so far. When we
were putting together the video and literature material for the campaign we
were unsure as to how full and frank we could be as some of the stories are
truly terrifying. However we were urged by many of those involved to include
as many of the details of their experiences as possible to help prevent
these awful experiences happening to others".

"Our gratitude, thanks and thoughts go out to those people who shared
these tragic episodes with us. This is not just an insurance issue but one of
fundamental importance to the nations young drivers and we are proud to be at
the forefront of such an important campaign."

Notes To Editors:

The Education Pack includes:

- a hard-hitting Too Young to Die DVD, which features interviews with
people bereaved in young driver crashes, accident and emergency surgeons,
fire officers and paramedics;

- handout copies of the Too Young to Die booklet a new resource for
students to take away and keep as their guide to staying alive on the road -
designed to be handed out after being shown the DVD;

- instructions on downloading a free powerpoint presentation on Brake's
website (funded by the Department for Transport), which can be used on
interactive whiteboards or using a computer and projector as part of a 
lesson incorporating the DVD.

The DVD features heart-rending interviews with people who have been
affected by the consequences of irresponsible driving. The 15 minute video
includes an interview with a mother who lost her 12 year old son, a young 
man who cradled his dying friend in his arms and a paramedic whose job often
includes some gruesome aspects which most of us just don't realise forms a
frequent part of their jobs.