Road Safety Week: will you be a hero?
UKROEd is joining road safety groups across the country to encourage everyone to play a part in the forthcoming Road Safety Week (15 to 21 November). The theme of Road Safety Week 2021 is ‘Road Safety Heroes’, celebrating the heroic work of road safety professionals, and explaining how we can all play a part in making road journeys safer.
As well as celebrating the work of people who make a difference every day, the idea is to use Road Safety Week to show that we can all be road safety heroes. Everyone should have the right to make journeys that are safe, healthy and free from harm. The reality is that people are still losing their lives or being seriously injured in collisions every day.
Being a road safety hero could simply mean raising the profile of road safety with family, friends, parents and children. It could mean making one or two small changes to the way you use the roads. It could mean acknowledging that you might be putting yourself – or others – at risk by driving too fast, too close or while you’re distracted or tired.
If you’re then willing to find ways of reducing risk, then you’re definitely a Road Safety Hero.
How you can be a hero at the wheel
We have five simple but effective tips that can be adopted right now by any driver. The result will be safer road journeys for everyone:
- Observe speed limits. In particular, respect 20mph zones and play your part in making communities safer.
- Banish distractions. Switch your mobile phone off and lock it in the boot before a journey. If you need to check messages, then pull over and stop somewhere safe.
- Anticipate problems as early as possible. For example, don’t accelerate up to a junction even if you have priority. Instead, take it easy so you can make allowances for the errors of other road users.
- Take it easy on bends and country lanes, and always make sure you can stop on your side of the road in the distance you can see to be clear ahead.
- Don’t treat a road journey as a race or a contest. Focus on arriving safely and in a calm frame of mind.
About Road Safety Week
Road Safety Week is co-ordinated by Brake and supported by a wide cross-section of employers and individuals.
