Road Safety Week is coordinated by the road safety charity Brake and involves thousands of organisations, schools and communities promoting road safety. This year the week focuses on the theme tune in, urging everyone to stay focused when using roads and avoid distractions – a key message for employers to communicate.
To register to take part and get a free email action pack go to www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk
We’re all human: we daydream, get side-tracked, run late and make mistakes. But on roads, distractions can be fatal.
When using roads, we all need to tune in to road safety and give it our full attention – particularly if we’re at the wheel, but also when we’re walking, cycling, skating, running, you name it – to keep ourselves and each other safe.
Road Safety Week 2013 (18-24 Nov) focuses on the theme of tuning in to road safety and avoiding distractions, and we’re appealing to communities and organisations around the UK to register now to help get this life-saving message out.
The facts
Driver distraction is a major cause of death and serious injury in the UK [1]. Driving is the most dangerous thing that most of us do on a daily basis and requires your full attention, but many drivers have a sense of over-confidence and feel cocooned in their vehicles, so attempting to multi-task is common.
While it’s illegal to use a hand-held phone to text or call at the wheel, around a third of drivers flout this law [2], and many others use a hands-free kit, despite both activities causing a dangerous distraction [3]. Other distracting activities such as eating or smoking at the wheel have been shown to increase your risk of crashing [4], yet lots of drivers own up to it [5].
But distraction isn’t just an issue for drivers. For people on foot and bicycle, being sidetracked by your mobile, or not being able to hear due to listening to music, or forgetting to hold a child’s hand, can be lethal [6]; negotiating roads needs your full care and attention.
Our main messages
This year, we’re asking everyone to pledge to tune in to road safety – that means promising to do your best to keep focused on the task at hand, and never putting yourself and others in danger for the sake of a call, text or other activity that can wait.
During the Week, we’ll be particularly appealing to drivers to turn off their phones and never attempt to multi-task at the wheel. But this is also about all of us looking out for ourselves and each other, however we’re using roads, by not speaking to someone else on the phone who’s driving, and taking care to stay focused while on foot or bike: including getting off the phone, taking out headphones and following the good old green cross code to get across roads safely.
Get involved
There are countless ways you can promote this message and life-saving road safety awareness in your community or organisation during Road Safety Week and year-round. It’s up to you whether you tie in with our ‘tune in’ theme or focus on other road safety issues that are important in your area.
Check out the menu above for ideas for community groups, schools, organisations and road safety professionals about how you can get involved, and register now to get a free e-action pack with guidance and resources in advance of the Week.
Notes:
[1] Reported road casualties Great Britain annual reports 2011, Department for Transport, 2012 and Police Recorded Injury Road Traffic Collisions and Casualties Northern Ireland annual report 2011, Police Service of Northern Ireland, 2012
[2] Direct Line report on safe driving PART FIVE Driven to distraction, Brake and Direct Line, 2011
[3] Using a hands-free mobile whilst driving can be more dangerous than drink driving, Transport Research Laboratory, 2009
[4] Driving with one hand on the wheel – a fatal distraction, The University of Leeds, 2012
[5] Direct Line report on safe driving PART FIVE Driven to distraction, Brake and Direct Line, 2011
[6] The effects of mobile phone use on pedestrian crossing behaviour at signalised and unsignalised intersections, The University of New South Wales, 2007; and Mobile phone use while cycling: Incidence and effects on behaviour and safety, University of Groningen, 2010; and MP3 players and traffic safety; “State of the art”, Belgian Road Safety Institute, 2009; and Mobile telephones, distracted attention, and pedestrian safety, The Ohio State University, 2008
Help is at hand
If you need help or advice on any aspect of health and safety then please contact us or request a call back – or call and speak directly to a friendly consultant or occupational hygienist on 01453 800100. You can become a member of our Safety~net support service over the phone and get help right away, whatever your problem.
