‘Travel like you know them’: Road safety made personal
Earlier this summer, the UK government relaunched its THINK! road safety campaign, reminding people to ‘Travel like you know them’ to highlight the human cost of road traffic accidents. The...
This week is Road Safety Week, during which the charity Brake is spreading the message of ‘Safer Roads For All’.
Since the Highway Code was updated in January this year, a hierarchy of road users has been introduced with more vulnerable groups such as pedestrians at the top. However, with concerns about how many people are aware of the new hierarchy, it is clear there is still a need to raise awareness of issues that prevent or restrict people from travelling safely on foot.
Pedestrian safety on our roads
Living Streets is the leading UK charity for pedestrians. It was founded in 1929 as the Pedestrians’ Association and played a crucial role introducing the Highway Code in 1931.
Today, it continues to campaign for pedestrian safety through improved infrastructure, law changes or increased awareness of the difficulties pedestrians face on Britain’s streets.
In a recent blog post for Brake, Living Streets’ director of policy Tanya Braun shared how they are helping to improve pedestrian safety. These include:
- Campaigning for better pedestrian safety measures in the Highway Code. In addition to the hierarchy of road users, Living Streets secured amendments which means that drivers have to give way to pedestrians crossing at junctions and zebra crossings.
- Supporting the School Streets initiative which helps local communities ensure streets outside schools are closed to cars at the start and end of the school day. It means fewer parents driving their children to school, reducing the risk of road accidents near the school gates. It also encourages children to walk to school, promoting a healthier lifestyle and helping the environment.
- Promoting their safer crossings campaign. Although pedestrian crossings are vital to ensure that as many people as possible are able to make walking journeys, many crossings are not positioned in the right place and do not always give everyone enough time to cross the road. Living Streets highlight that shorter waiting times would prevent people making risky attempts to cross the road before a green light.
A safer future for pedestrians
Louise Gardner is a specialist personal injury lawyer from our Swindon team. She is experienced in supporting people, including pedestrians, who have been injured in serious road accidents, and says:
“Progress is being made to reduce the risk of serious road accidents, particularly those involving pedestrians. However, it is clear that the work carried out by organisations such as Living Streets and Brake to highlight the unnecessary dangers vulnerable road users still face, is still needed.
“As a parent myself, I want to know that children will grow up in a country where they can walk to school without being put at risk, and where everyone’s ability to travel healthily and safely is prioritised.”
If you or a loved one has been injured as a pedestrian in a road accident, it is important to speak to a specialist personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. At Novum Law, our expert team can support you, and help you to secure justice plus any compensation or care you need on a “No Win, No Fee” basis.
For a free, no obligation chat about how we can help, call us on 0800 884 0777, email us info@novumlaw.com or complete our short enquiry form.
