Road safety teams and stakeholders across the UK are preparing for UN Global Road Safety Week 2017, which gets underway on Monday.
The bi-annual event (8-14 May), which asks drivers to #SlowDown, is timed to coincide with the anniversary of the launch of the Decade of Action for Road Safety on 11 May 2011.
Global Road safety Week is organised by the UN Road Safety Collaboration, which was set up by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2004 to ‘discuss global road safety issues’ and ‘facilitate international cooperation and strengthen global and regional coordination among UN agencies’.
The 2017 Global Road Safety Week will set out to ‘increase understanding of the dangers of speed and generate action on measures to address speed, thereby saving lives’.
In support of the week, road safety stakeholders and groups across the UK have organised special events, all of which can be viewed on an interactive map on the Global Road Safety Week website.
13 May 2017
Braking Distance Challenge
Newport, Isle of Wight
Riverfest is the annual sustainable lifestyle event on the Isle of Wight. The cycling lobby group CycleWight will host a braking distance challenge at the event to highlight the importance of driving at appropriate speeds.
10 May 2017
Speed summit (RoadSafe)
London
This summit, organised by RoadSafe, will review six programmes which have won Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards for their success in changing the behaviour of road users by encouraging them to slow down, and recommend what more can be done.
12 May 2017
Go Slow Day
Ludlow, Shropshire
Together with a local primary school, residents of Ludlow will use placards and banners to ask motorists on a main road near the school to travel at 20mph.
8 May 2017
Launch of the Manifesto #4RoadSafety: priorities for road safety and legislation 2020 and beyond
London
This will be covered in greater detail on the Road Safety GB newsfeed next week.
16-17 May 2017
Road safety awareness days
South Acton, London
Staff at the South Acton Children’s Centre will be discussing road safety with parents and carers. They will also be measuring and weighing the children and distributing information about the recent changes to child car seat legislation.
12 May 2017
Safety & enabling behaviour change session at the Cycle City Active City Conference
Bradford
Cycle City Active City is the ‘ground-breaking’ conference and exhibition for those working to encourage utility cycling, walking and active, healthy lifestyles across Britain. The fifth annual event sets out to show how to progress ‘from potential to reality’ and includes a two-day exhibition.
20 March – 14 May 2017
Junior Road Safety Officer Poster Competition
Scotland
Scotland’s Junior Road Safety Officers (JRSOs) are supporting Global Road Safety Week through a poster competition organised by Road Safety Scotland. JRSOs will also participate in a wide variety of road safety support activities in their local schools and communities.
Contact details for all events featured are available on the Global Road Safety Week website.
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