One of the most eye-catching projects Vision Zero South West has been involved with is the Ford Focus RS Police Car.
It is the brainchild of Devon & Cornwall Police’s Road Casualty Reduction Sergeant Owen Messenger who has spent many years engaging with young drivers in the region.
Best known for his collaboration with GCM – a car scene and modified vehicle influencer – the pair create social media videos all about road safety and other topics that effect young drivers when they first get on the road.
The idea of the project was to transform the standard Focus RS into a safe and legally modified police car in order to engage with this often hard-to-reach audience. Vision Zero South West funded the purchase and modification of the vehicle, which will be sold at the end of the project.
As well as starring in a series of videos charting its modification journey, the Focus RS is also used at events across Devon & Cornwall to help police engage with road users and strike up a conversation around road safety.
It’s fair to say the unique vehicle has been a huge success! Not only has it attracted attention and headlines from around the world, but it has also helped the GCM achieve over 2 billion views – averaging around 30 million views per month.
You can find GCM on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.
