The striking scene unfolded opposite Green Lane Masjid in Small Heath on Friday afternoon, July 25
A major Birmingham mosque orchestrated a crash scene in the middle of Small Heath in a stark message to the community of the dangers of reckless driving.
The live-action mock crash scene unfolded on Friday afternoon in the Morrisons carpark in Small Heath, opposite Green Lane Masjid, in attempts to crack down on issues blighting the area, which include speeding, drivers taking nitrous oxide balloons and reckless parking.
Around 100 people gathered to watch the event on July 25, with Green Lane confirming that more than 4,000 people tuned in to the Friday sermon about reckless driving.
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The exercise saw West Midlands Fire fighters attend the crash scene, which was set up using real cars.
The exercise then showed how 999 crews would rescue a real-life trapped driver, which mosque officials said was “poignant and necessary as Birmingham continues to see car collisions, fatalities and pedestrian victims far too often.”
Two hatchback cars were involved, with firefighters cutting through a small Hyundai to retrieve a passenger.
The recovery of a road traffic accident victim is reconstructed in Morrisons car park by Green Lane Mosque in front of a crowd.
This is being done in order to deter people from driving over the speed limit or under the influence of nitrous oxide, drugs or alcohol.(Image: Birmingham Live)
Birmingham has seen a raft of road tragedies in the past 18 months, with campaigners declaring a road safety emergency in 2024.
Last week we reported how campaigners say the council needs to do better after failing to fulfil a set of urgent actions that were set out following a scrutiny inquiry. You can read more from the city’s transport chief, here.
Semir Said, head of outreach at Green Lane Masjid said at the scene on Friday: “We must educate our family members and our children of the consequences of such actions, the consequences of driving recklessly, of speeding, of taking substances while behind the wheel. This is the result.”
Mr Said went on: “Road safety is a topic we must never stop talking about. It’s one thing to compromise your own life, but another to selfishly destroy innocent lives in accidents.
The recovery of a road traffic accident victim is reconstructed in Morrisons car park by Green Lane Mosque in front of a crowd.
This is being done in order to deter people from driving over the speed limit or under the influence of nitrous oxide, drugs or alcohol.(Image: Birmingham Live)
“At GLMCC, we are desperately urging people to drive responsibly and particularly to stop driving under intoxicants like nitrous oxide.
“We must also park considerately so wheelchair users and pushchairs are not forced into the road endangering themselves.
“We have a religious responsibility to protect lives.
“The prophet Muhammad specifically told us ‘removing harm from the road is a charity’, we therefore stress to all, do not be the harm in the road.
“If righteousness is removing harm, imagine the consequences of being the harm.”