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  • November 14, 2022

  • Abby Nuttall

  • Articles

Today marks the start of Road Safety Week 2022! We’re excited to be writing about the charity campaign week that is designed to help raise awareness of road safety.

Road Safety Week is a national week long campaign organised by road safety charity Brake, and has been running annually since 1997. In the past campaigns have focused on road safety heroes, understanding the rules around cyclists and other topical aspects of safety as new issues have arisen with the changes in legislation, vehicles and technology.

The 25th Road Safety Week is focusing on promoting safe roads for all road users. This means safe roads for:

  • Cars
  • Buses and minibuses
  • LGVs and HGVs
  • Pedestrians
  • Cyclists
  • Motorcyclists
  • Horse Riders
  • Mobility vehicles and scooters

It’s important for all road users to understand about the other road users they’ll encounter while travelling, how they are expected to act / react and creating a safe road for everyone to use.

The campaign will have three main aims this year and these are:

  • To get us thinking about how we can all use roads safely to protect ourselves and other road users
  • Understanding how safe roads can help all users have safe and healthy journeys
  • Sharing personal experiences from those affected by accidents and incidents on the road to spread awareness

Wessex Fleet’s 10 Road Safety Tips

We’ve rounded up our best practices to help you keep yourself and other road users safe as part of our Road Safety Week and you can read these all below.

These tips apply to all road users, not just drivers.

1. Read the Highway Code and regularly refresh yourself on the rules for yourself and other road users. We recommend reading it annually at least to keep yourself up to date with any changes and to refresh yourself on how each type of road users are expected to act.

2. Don’t operate a motor vehicle if you feel impaired in any way or feel the vehicle is not in a drivable condition. Legally, cyclists should not ride their bikes if they are inebriated. You should also not get into a car as a passenger if you think the driver is unable to drive or the vehicle is unsafe.

3.  Wear appropriate safety gear. For example, if you’re cycling you should wear a helmet in the correct size, securely fastened, if you’re on a motorbike you want to wear leathers or similar protective clothing and again a helmet in the correct size securely fastened.

4. Make sure you are visible. If you’re not in a motor vehicle then wear light, bright and reflective clothing to make yourself easier to see. If it’s getting dark or there is poor visibility you should be using appropriate lights, it’s a legal requirement for all motor vehicles and bicycles to have lights on in the dark.

 5. Keep below the speed limit and remember that it is a maximum speed and not a target. There will be some circumstances where travelling at the speed limit could be dangerous, such as if it’s dark, there’s debris on the road surface or it’s raining to name a few.

6.  Make sure to regularly check your blind spots or look behind you if your mode of transport does not have mirrors so that you are aware of your surroundings and anyone else who is travelling near you.

7. Give other road users plenty of space when following or passing them. Drivers are required to give at least 1.5 metres of room when passing a cyclist, horse rider, or pedestrian and you should do so at a low speed to avoid any backdraft from your vehicle unsettling them.

8. Be patient if you are travelling behind a slower road user. Getting annoyed with them will only make you agitated and more likely to act unsafely which makes you a hazard to other road users.

 9. Make sure that your cross the road at appropriate crossings or if there is not one nearby that you are safe to do so and will not be a danger to yourself or other road users. If you are travelling by foot don’t rush as falling could injury you and put you at greater risk of an accident with another road user.

10. Only use cycle lanes and boxes, taxi or bus lanes and other lanes or stopping area when you are legally allowed to. If you use them when you are not authorised to or your vehicle is not suitable for them you could become a hazard to other road users.

How Can I Get involved in Road Safety Week?

There’s a number of different ways that you can participate in this year’s campaign, including:

  • You can create social media posts and campaigns and get involved that way.
  • You can share your story with Brake or other road safety charities if you’ve been affected by a dangerous road event.
  • You can fundraise virtually and in person and donate the proceeds to Brake to help them.
  • You can spread awareness within your organisation with dedicated content and workshops.

 

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