SHP hears from road safety charity, Drivetech, on why the importance and awareness of driving on roads needs to be a year-round conversation in 2023.
November marked Brake’s annual Road Safety Week – an annual event bringing together thousands of schools, businesses and communities UK-wide to share important road safety messages, and to remember those affected by road death or injury. An important milestone though this was as a business that is geared towards saving lives, we believe road safety awareness needs to be viewed as a 365-day campaign to ensure we reduce the number of injuries and fatalities as we move into 2023.
The data supports the need for urgency. On UK roads in 2021 alone, 1,608 people were killed and 26,701 were seriously injured, highlighting how deaths and serious injuries have risen 15% on 2020, after falling during the pandemic lockdown. We have pulled together what we believe should be the three main pillars of your year-long road safety strategy for 2023 below.
Reducing speed
Under a new reporting scheme, the Metropolitan Police force found that speeding should have been included as a contributory factor in almost half of all traffic accidents. Monitoring your speed should always be a priority when driving. Even a slight increase in speed could have major repercussions. An average speed increase of just a single mile per hour can increase crash frequency by 5%. The majority of drivers involved in these types of collisions are just normal people on normal journeys. That’s why it’s important to always remember that your experiences whilst driving are no different to anyone else’s. Whether you’re running late or think you are safe on an open road, you should respect the laws of the road and avoid speeding whatever the circumstances.
Wear your seatbelt
Seatbelts are one of the simplest and most important features for protecting vehicle occupants, but some still choose not to wear them. In a crash, you are twice as likely to die if you are not wearing your seatbelt. You can also be fined up to £500 if caught not wearing a seatbelt. It’s worth bearing in mind that the same penalty applies too if you’re caught with a child under the age of 14 who isn’t sitting in the correct car seat.
Put down the mobile
Using your phone whilst driving in the UK is against the law because of the danger its distractions can cause. Nonetheless, people continue to do it every day, despite the fact that using your phone behind the wheel makes you four times as likely to crash. Driving is a complex task which requires your full attention. The primary impairment drivers face from using a phone behind the wheel is the mental distraction from the driving task. Research has shown that after using your phone, it can take half a minute to regain full attention, during which time your driving is impaired.
Throughout 2023, we will continue to spread awareness of the importance of road safety as part of our 365-day campaign. We hope you will join us.
For more information about Drivetech visit their website.
