Image from a previous Surround a Town day in Essex
During Road Safety Week 2019, local authorities and police forces across the UK placed extra emphasis on improving the safety of all road users.
What’s happening in your area?
Throughout Road Safety Week we are running a daily news update covering what’s happening around the country. Simply send details of your activities by email to Edward Seaman at Road Safety News and we’ll feature them in our roundup.
Organised annually by the road safety charity Brake, Road Safety Week provides an opportunity for communities to take action on road safety – and a focal point for professionals to boost road safety awareness and engagement.
Road Safety Week 2019, which takes place between 18-24 November, encourages road users to ‘Step up for Safe Streets’ and play a part in the creation of a safe and healthy future.
A busy programme in Essex
A comprehensive, week-long, programme of events in Essex continues today, with a ‘Surround a Town’ day taking place in Chelmsford.
Surround a Town sees the Safer Essex Roads Partnership (SERP) focus resources in a concentrated and geographically targeted area, often where there are high rates of collisions and casualties.
The initiative uses a combination of enforcement and engagement to highlight the importance of safe and legal driving.
As part of the Surround a Town, a Community Speedwatch session is taking place at the Bishop’s School.
Elsewhere, activities are taking place at infant and primary schools across Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock – covering Bikeability training and pedestrian training in the form of parent and child walks.
Met Police support in Hammersmith
Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s transportation and road safety team is supporting Road Safety Week, with additional activities scheduled throughout the week.
Among these is Exchanging Places – facilitated by the Met Police Cycle Safety Team – which enables cyclists to see for themselves the blind spots from a HGV driver’s perspective.
Other activities include:
- Traffic speed monitoring and enforcement of 20mph areas through Community Roadwatch (in association with Transport for London).
- Close pass: cyclist and traffic safety (also known as ‘Space For Cyclists’).
- Advising motorists to be especially mindful of pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists, particularly as seasonal weather and morning and evening hours of darkness are encroaching.
This work supplements the ongoing road safety programme operating throughout the borough by the road safety team, covering the road network. Practical road safety training workshops are carried out in schools, nurseries and children’s centres.
Poster competition in Wolverhampton
With the backing of Wolverhampton City Council, a local firm of solicitors is holding a competition for students at the Royal Wolverhampton School – to design the best poster that highlights key road safety messages.
With prospective parliamentary candidates Pat McFadden and Eleanor Smith as judges, the winners will be revealed by FBC Manby Bowdler in a special assembly on 29 November.
Susan Todhunter, a partner at FBC Manby Bowdler, said: “As specialist personal injury lawyers, we know first-hand the devastating and long-term effects of road traffic collisions for pedestrians, motorists and cyclists.
“Awareness campaigns like this are vital to encourage all road users to take more care and to show more consideration for other road users in order to prevent accidents and serious injuries occurring.
“We hope that by spreading the message about safer road use in a fun way it will encourage children, in particular, to take extra care and share the lessons they learn with family and friends.”
How sad that you didn’t think to include ALL Vulnerable Road Users in this campaign. That seems to reflect the thinking around the country that somehow Horse riders and carriage drivers have become 2nd class citizens. I didn’t notice any mention of disabled wheelchair or mobility scooter users either. It’s time for the law to change and make motorists responsible for their actions and speed limits to be drastically reduced countrywide, especially on country lanes and housing estates.
Debbi Hall, Stockport
--3
Do hope horses are mentioned – I see too many videos of awful accidents involving horses and riders. The death statistics are scary.
Pax, Swansea
+2
‘Tony, LGC’ has made the most pertinent comment with a message that needs to be reinforced whenever possible i.e. we, you, us, the motorists.. must take ultimate responsibility for NOT colliding with slower-moving, more vulnerable road users and not find excuses by blaming the victim. I suspect however it will receive fewer ‘agrees’ than some of the other comments posted on this news story
Hugh Jones, Cheshire
0
Please please include equestrians we do everything possible to be seen and safe but risk being hit by uneducated drivers who scream abuse at us saying get off the roads and worse but we have so few bridleways and most have to travel at least some distance on roads to get to bridleway and safety please remember we are very vulnerable just as cyclists
Frank Allen, Thatcham
+18
Hi Rachel, Jillie, Naomi and Honor,
If you have any details of equestrian road safety events taking place as part of Road Safety Week – please send them across. We would be very happy to feature in our daily round ups.
My email address is in the story above.
Regards,
Ed
Edward Seaman, assistant editor, Road Safety News
+14
Please could you always include equestrians in literature and lobbying. There are 3 million horse riders and about 500,000 carriage drivers. I have suffered several close and dangerous passes in the last few weeks. One driver hit both my stirrup and my whip despite being asked to slow down. We need to educate drivers to expect to see horse riders and carriage drivers on rural roads especially single track unclassified County roads. Thank you
Rachel Thompson MBE, Wells Somerset
+17
I am disappointed to see this list of events which merely focuses on motorists who pass too close to cyclists. Why have you chosen to exclude equestrians from the campaign?
Jillie Gardiner, Brechfa
+17
As usual this will be all about what the vulnerable parties hav e to do to mitigate the actions of those using the highway in their killer boxes. Government and police have form on this victim blaming nonsense, it should ALWAYS be focused on what motorists should be doing.
Forcing the vulnerable to modify their behaviour to not get get killed or maimed is heinous and unjust, it’s also proven never to improve their safety when it comes to interaction with the group that does pretty much all the killing and maiming.
Remember the ‘THINK’ campaign’s ‘Gory Story’ which was rolled out in schools across the country a few years back that blamed kids when they got injured/killed for not dressing up bright during darker hours instead of forcing motorists to slow down and drive at a speed they can stop well within the distance they can see to be clear (HC rule 126) and bother to actually look and take account for their surroundings and the hazard they present to others!! Yeah, victim blaming clap trap!!
As a cyclist of 36 years road experience and driver for many years including into and around London for a decade ‘blind spots’ are excuses for motorists not looking properly or the design of the vehicle being inadequate, yet more offsetting/excusing dangerous driving!
Tony, LGC
+5
Please add equestrians to this list! Nearly 400 horses have died on our roads, we are a very vulnerable group and can be targeted easily by motorists who don’t like us being on the roads – even if we are not injured, the vet bills can cost a fortune for an injured horse as well as weeks or months of recovery, please consider a wider population than walkers and cyclists. A 13 year old girl was injured in September and a recent police presence had to talk to 40 drivers in an hour in the area. This alone shows how dangerous roads are for horse riders, and we should be included throughout all statements where vulnerable road users are referred to
Naomi, Milton keynes
+24
I quite agree with the previous comment. “Space for cyclists” should be re-branded “space for vulnerable users” and all vulnerable users should
be included in any discussions/plans on road safety and public access. Most of the drivers we meet when riding on the roads are very considerate but most days there will be at least one car who will put both themselves and us at risk by passing too close, too fast or in an inappropriate place.
Philippa, Loughborough
+15
Please Could you always include equestrians/ horse and carriages in your plans and signage. A very vunnerable group that includes children, older people both disabled and able bodied. Thank you
Honor Arden, Shrewsbury
+26
Please can you ALWAYS include equines in your text … e.g Close Pass … Cycle, Equine a traffic safety. We need to be seen to be included obviously and with fully equitable consideration ON EVERY STATEMENT as a matter of course.
Pat, Gloucester
+29