‘Helpful Hazards’ made available for road safety teams

12.00 | 9 August 2016 | | 2 comments

THINK! has produced a shortened version of its ‘Helpful Hazards’ film and is encouraging local authorities to use it to highlight the dangers of country roads.

First used for the THINK! 2015 Country Roads campaign, the video features animals and vehicles sprayed with signs prompting drivers to slow down, anticipate hazards and brake before the bend, not on it.

THINK! has also distributed the video to TV stations for use as a public information film.

THINK! first  launched ‘Country Roads’ in October 2014 with a video and radio ads titled, ‘if you could see’.

The campaign was relaunched in October 2015 on the back of figures which showed that on average three people died on country roads every day during 2014. In total, 1,040 people were killed and 9,051 seriously injured on country roads in 2014, with a third (348) of fatalities occurring on a bend.

In spite of this, in a survey of 2,000 drivers conducted at that time, almost a quarter of respondents admitted to braking too late on bends and two fifths (41%) claimed to have swerved to avoid something in the road.

The THINK! team is working with Road Safety GB and TRL to develop the 2016 Country Roads campaign, which will run during the coming autumn.

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    The Think clip barely touches the surface (sic!) of country road driving. It shows what might be an A road in open conditions. I spend a lot of time driving country roads, real country roads in Somerset and Devon. Some are centre-lined. Some are not. Most often the bends are closed (no view across the bend). 126 of HC universally applies; being able to stop in the distance seen to be clear. Buit with no centre-line (in other words no certainty of being able to pass opposing traffic without passing places) the possibility of on-coming traffic – often too fast- is the major issue. And it might be aw very large tractor. So speed needs to be halved in antisipation. The possibilty of horses etc should always be borne in mind. So if Think is going to talk about country roads let them talk about all types of country road and the implications there-in.


    Nigel ALBRIGHT
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    The next time I am out on my motorcycle and approaching a bend the severity of which I do not know I will now look around me for signs of any sheep or cattle or other similar object that has some writing on it that will give me some advice on how to take it. Recently I was travelling along such a road and on the field gate was a sign that read DANGER BULLS BEWARE. KEEP OUT!

    Now maybe the Farmer knows something that I don’t but I certainly never knew that Bulls could read.

    Back to bends and the best advice I ever read was not slow in and fast out as is advised nowadays..that’s just asking for trouble. But that one should take every bend as if it’s a reducing radius one and therefore one goes in slow and steady and if it is a reducing radius no harm is done. If it opens up still take it easy and steady and then at the opening of the bend when it and the bike are straightening up, one can only then accelerate. This is both sound advice for not only new bends but regularly used bends that could have an obstacle on the blind side of the bend, a horse, tractor, pedestrian cows etc. Don’t be in a hury to die. Take all bends seriously and slow down enough to be able to stop in the distance one can see to be clear. That may mean 20 or so mph and not 30 or 40 mph.


    R.Craven Blackpool
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