Walkers, cyclists and runners are being encouraged to raise awareness about the importance of protecting cyclists and pedestrians by organising a ‘Bright Day’ during Road Safety Week (19-25 November).
The theme for this year’s Road Safety Week, organised by road safety charity Brake, is ‘Slower speeds = happy people’. Brake will use the event to underline the importance of making it safer for people to walk, run and cycle in their communities.
Brake will also be calling for action from authorities to make roads safer and appealing to drivers to slow down to 20mph in communities, and to look out for people on foot and bikes.
Walkers, cyclists and runners are being encouraged to organise a Bright Day in their workplace or community, in which everyone will wear bright clothes.
Julie Townsend, Brake deputy chief executive, says: “Road Safety Week is a great opportunity to work together to make our streets safer, greener and more pleasant places.
“We believe people should be able to walk and cycle without their lives being endangered by traffic. We’ll be calling on authorities to do more to protect people on foot and bike, and calling on drivers to make a difference by slowing down.
“Organising a Bright Day is a great way to get involved in the UK’s biggest road safety event, have fun, raise awareness, and raise funds. It’s a simple way to promote a critical message.”
Click here for more information, including how to register for the event.
How can we prevent vehicles colliding with cyclists and pedestrians?
For example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qycF0raqpg&feature=autoplay&list=ULlEd3xt_pp0E&playnext=1
Clearly the driver of the black car would be considered “at fault” but how could this collision be prevented? The current fashions in road safety (20mph zones, cycle lanes, traffic calming, speed cameras) far from preventing such collisions could contribute to more of them. The driver had about 1.8 seconds from being able to see the cyclist to the collision, and made a mistake. We all make mistakes so this will happen again.
When cycling (or motorcycling), I try not to take such a road position as the cyclist did and try not to head towards such hazards at such speeds. Despite the cyclist not being at fault, he wasn’t allowing for anyone else’s mistakes. He rode in such a way that he could not achieve eye contact with the junction users in time, and could not avoid any collision should someone else make a mistake.
Dave Finney – Slough
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I make the same comment about people wearing reflective clothing as I do about compulsory running lights – if you are not looking for a hazard then you will not see one. Some motorists/pedestrians fail to see marked police cars. And another thing, if everybody wears reflective clothing it will become so common place it will lose the impact it originally set out to make. I know Brake have to be seen to be doing something about road safety but this campaign is pointless. How about bringing back road safety education in schools as used to be in the 60s or is that too radical?
Jan
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Agreed, Dave, but that is human nature.
However, was at a set of lights the other day and three separate bikers rode through to be in front on me and the car next to me, by about 2 metres, over the white lane and without any special place for them. They stayed there whilst traffic passed across them then all set off almost at same time and the lights were still on red against them.
Doesn’t do much for endearing cyclists to other road users.
As I have said before they don’t know about the Highway Code or respect the law. (Then again they are not alone in that).
bob craven Lancs.
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If people want to walk without their lives being in danger they should stop focusing on their mobile phones / ipods and start looking where they’re actually going and what’s going on around them.
Dave, Leeds
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