Taking place 19-25 November, Road Safety Week (by Brake, the road safety charity), represents the charity’s biggest annual road safety campaign. The annual event dedicates a week to raising awareness of key areas of road safety, such as the new hierarchy of the roads, the importance of visibility for all road users, and the highway code.
A key opportunity to talk about road safety, the charity raises funds to help Brake care for more road victims and campaign for safe roads for everyone. This year’s theme is ‘let’s talk about speed’, raising awareness of the dangers of excess or inappropriate speeds.
Increasing Fatalities.
Five lives are lost on the road every day in the UK. In Britain & Northern Ireland, 1766 people lost their lives on the road in 2022, 10% more than the previous year. That’s five people every single day.
Data on reported road collisions, available on gov.uk, indicates that the police reported excessive speed as being a contributory factor in a quarter of all road traffic deaths.[1] So, let’s talk about speed.
Well-Equipped and Well Educated
For businesses like ours, Road Safety Week is a brilliant opportunity to get involved and play our part in promoting safe driving habits. Dave Ingleby, Operations Director notes, “Rightly, the highways sector has a constant focus on the safety of not just our colleagues, but all road users. It’s our number one priority here at SRL.”
He continues, “Throughout 2023, SRL leveraged a new ‘Safe Drivers’ scheme to encourage and reward positive driving behaviours. We also introduced greater process and structure around our fleet management to make sure our drivers are well-equipped and well-educated in their responsibility on the highways.”
Taking Responsibility
This year’s Road Safety Week aims to start the conversation about why speeding is thought of as acceptable in some situations, what happens when we speed and why reducing speed saves lives.
This year’s theme serves as a reminder for individuals to reflect on their own driving habits. With consideration to situational variables, are we avoiding distractions, being considerate and accommodating other road users, maintaining safe distances, and critically, driving for the present conditions?
Safer Roads, For Everyone
Ultimately, Road Safety Week plays a crucial role in promoting and ensuring safer roads for everyone. Through education and conversation, we can collectively work towards reducing the number of road accidents and saving lives.
Let us all pledge to practice road safety not just during this designated week, but each day, making our roads a safer place for everyone.
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