THE UK's roads are the second safest in Europe.

That was the claim made by Sergeant Rob Heard, of Hampshire police, who was guest speaker at Hampshire Chamber's Pure Networking event, held at Martins Volkswagen in Hatch, near Old Basing.

The road safety officer said: “That's something we have worked really hard over the years to achieve.

“But the national plan is that by 2050 we won't have any fatalities on our roads.”

He spoke of the potential consequences of drink and drug driving, talking on a mobile phone whilst driving and of the legal eyesight limit.

Bringing this closer to home, Sgt Heard discussed the death of 23-year-old Trinity Taylor, who was killed in 2005 on the M3, close to Junction 6, when a lorry driver had been scrolling his new phone menus.

Tragically, Trinity's car was crushed and she was killed instantly.

He also spoke of the death of 28-year-old Neil Colquhoun, who died in 2011 in a head-on crash on the A30, close to the Martins Volkswagen dealership.

Mr Colquhoun, from Hook, died when his car collided with one being driven the wrong way along the A30 by an 89-year-old doctor who was blind in one eye and below the legal eye sight limit in the other.

However, the networking event proved to be an informative, useful and lighted hearted affair and was attended by business people from across the county.

Hampshire Chamber membership manager David Kemshall, said: “It's lovely to have a broad spectrum of business attending making it very easy for everyone to do business together.

“Inside the structured networking during the evening everybody was asked to do an elevator pitch to and finish by talking about their first car.

“The winner received a wonderful in car air freshener which went to Tim Mannion from MAS Group.

“He said his first car was a Morris Minor that had wood worm and he called it Jack as it was always up on one.”