Car crash promo for Jeremy Clarkson’s new show slammed by road safety charity

A road safety charity has slammed mock car crashes staged as a promotion for Jeremy Clarkson’s new motoring show as “crass” and “insensitive”.

The fake crashes appeared in London, Berlin and Los Angeles to promote the former Top Gear presenter’s return to the small screen alongside buddies Richard Hammond and James May.

Their new show, The Grand Tour, will launch on Amazon Prime today.

A car with a CL4RK50N number plate appeared to somehow fall from the sky and ploughed into the world famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, which had police caution tape stretched around it.

Londoners also queued up to take selfies next to a vehicle smashing into a red post box in King’s Cross.

All of the cars have number plates containing the names of the presenters, while car enthusiasts may also have spotted that the cars are all Priuses – a model the former Top Gear presenters are famously not fans of.

While fans of the trio may have had a giggle at the fake carnage, road safety charities did not get the joke.

Gary Rae, the campaigns director for the road safety charity Brake, told The Guardian: “This is a crass, insensitive and desperate stunt. Though I’m not surprised, as this team has a track record of glorifying speed, and ignoring the devastating consequences of dangerous driving. Programmes like Top Gear and its new rival, The Grand Tour, need to recognise that car worship is dated and misplaced.”

Clarkson, Hammond and May have travelled all over the world to shoot stunts for their new series that will see the presenters travelling the globe with a tent to entertain audiences once again.

And Richard Hammond has promised fans that the former Top Gear trio’s latest show will not disappoint.

“We’ve got to make this good or they will come and torch us – and rightly so,” he said.

The Grand Tour makes its debut on Amazon Prime today.