SOMETIMES moral principle takes precedent over profits - and this picture of a crashed car and two men in Clifton Moor proves the point.

On the left is Tom Bryant, the City of York Council's road safety officer. On the right is Keith Allen, general manager of Just Car Clinic, in Kettlestring Lane.

Mr Allen's business relies on repairing crashed cars for its income - yet it has pledged itself to support Mr Bryant's Your Driving Your Business campaign to prevent accidents

Already 50 companies in the greater York area, including BT, Nestl Rowntree, York Hospital NHS Trust, Portakabin, and York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, have signed up to the campaign's road safety charter.

The charter commits them to improving both the safety of their employees and all of York's road users. Research shows that at least a third of all road crashes in York and North Yorkshire occur to vehicles being used for business purposes.

Mr Allen, whose 22 staff are expecting to continue to work "hell for leather" in the crash-riddled run-up to Christmas, said: "You might think our support is strange given that crash repair is our core business.

"But we take very seriously our responsibilities to ensure that our own drivers are accident-free and it is a message that should be passed on. Commercial interests don't come into this."

All 71 people who drive cars for Just Car Clinic nationally have to take an interactive online assessment which grades their risk and abilities.

Anyone who has had a crash in company or client cars within the past 12 months - and to date there are just four at Just Car Clinic's 12 centres - has to take a driver's refresher course.

Mr Bryant said that apart from injuries and fatalities, road crashes cost employers millions of pounds through repair costs, absences and increases in insurance premiums.

He said: "If every business in the city followed the example of Just Car Clinic, the number of crashes would reduce."

The next stage of his campaign will be to organise a series of workshops to advise businesses how to go about reducing accidents.

For further information, phone Mr Bryant on 01904 551387.

Updated: 10:52 Monday, December 05, 2005