‘Look out for each other’ is the theme for this year’s campaign, aiming to encourage road users to consider vulnerable road users
Road safety charity, Brake, will encourage road users to ‘look out for each other’ as part of Road Safety Week, running from 17-23 November 2014.
The 2014 Road Safety Week campaign asks road users to consider the vulnerability of people on the roads because 'being selfish can easily lead to tragedy’, urging them to protect one another in a bid to reduce the number of road traffic collisions, serious injuries and fatalities on UK roads. Brake is calling on drivers, in particular, to slow down to 20mph in communities and take extra care on bends and junctions.
According to the Department for Transport, 1,713 people were killed on Britain’s roads during 2013 and the total number of causalities reported to the police was 183,670.
The number of cyclist fatalities has fluctuated in the last six years, but has fallen by just 14% since the year 2000, compared with car occupant fatalities which have fallen by 46% during the same period.
Serious injury solicitor at Thompsons Solicitors, and chair of RoadPeace North East, David Robinson, said: “Road Safety Week is a time to recognise the dangers we face every single day on UK roads.
“While official figures may imply that safety standards are improving as road death figures have fallen, the underlying fact is that more than 1,700 people lost their lives on UK roads last year. This figure is still far too high.
“Road safety campaigns are a good way to raise awareness of road safety issues and help to improve road users’ attitudes on the roads, but this isn’t something that should be the focus just for a week long campaign.
"There is a great deal more that could be done to change road users’ attitudes to one another. The government needs to adequately fund road safety infrastructure measures, as well as education campaigns, if the number of serious injuries and fatalities caused by road traffic collisions is to continue to decline.”
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