Road Safety Week (18th – 24th November 2019)

As the darker nights draw in and we reluctantly accept that the summer is over, it is inevitably time to think about the changes we need to make for the months ahead. From ensuring that our children have reflective clothing or bags so they can be easily seen by motorists, to checking that our cars are winter ready.

This year, Road Safety Week takes place between 18th and 24th November and the theme is 'Step Up for Safe Streets'. The event is coordinated by the road safety charity, Brake, with the aim of highlighting road safety and encourage everyone to take responsibility and contribute towards making our streets safer. The focus of this year’s campaign is on how design can influence safety and minimise human error, and how walking or cycling can make the air cleaner, which is of course better for our health.

According to Brake, every 20 minutes someone is killed or injured on a British road, and road crashes are the leading cause of death for young people aged 5 – 29. Brake also report that there were 470 pedestrian deaths in the UK in 2017, which accounted for 26% of all road deaths that year. Pedestrians of all ages are vulnerable and at a higher risk of suffering death or injury so, as the nights become darker, we should all take this opportunity to remind ourselves, and those around us, of the basic road safety rules.

Key things to remember are:

• A - awareness (traffic is dangerous)
• B - behaviour (what you can do to stay safe)
• C - choice and campaign (make safer choices and educate others)

For more information, or to access teaching resources for all ages to help spread the road safety message, visit the Brake website.

About the Author

Rachel is a Chartered Legal Executive & Supervisor within our Personal Injury Team.

Rachel, who joined the business in 2003, was admitted as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives in 2009. She has an extensive background in litigation including loss recovery, credit hire and MIB claims. Rachel specialises in dealing with personal injury claims following road traffic accidents including accidents involving motorcycles.