Road Safety Week 2013

Today marks the start of Road Safety Week co-ordinated by Brake, the independent road safety charity. The theme of this year’s campaign is ‘tuning in to road safety’. The purpose of the campaign is to encourage drivers to avoid distractions whilst driving and stay focused in order to protect themselves and those around them.

According to Brake’s statistics, five deaths and 63 serious injuries occur every day on UK roads. As Brake says:

“Road crashes are not accidents; they are devastating and preventable events, not chance mishaps. Calling them accidents undermines work to make roads safer, and can cause insult to families whose lives have been torn apart by needless casualties.”

With this in mind, there has been a call from Brake to ban the use of not only hand-held but also hands-free phones from vehicles. The reason for this is that studies have shown that 98% of motorists were unable to divide their time without it affecting their driving ability. Their ability was impacted by using a mobile phone, eating, drinking and smoking and they were all shown to increase the risk of a crash. The government have said that road safety was one of their top priorities and although they are looking at how to improve road safety for younger motorists (the age group most at risk of accidents) they are not presently looking to ban hands-free kits.

There is a direct correlation between road traffic collisions and brain injury. In the UK approximately one million people attend hospital every year as a result of a brain injury of some form. Road traffic accidents account for 50% of all traumatic brain injuries suffered in the UK. The risk of suffering a brain injury is greatest in young people between the ages of 15 and 19 years, the age at which most young people learn to drive. Therefore, the importance and relevance of this year’s campaign cannot be stressed enough. With the devastating effects that such accidents can bring, Brake would encourage everyone to get involved in this year’s road safety campaign.

IBB Solicitors’ serious injury lawyers specialise in helping victims of brain injury secure compensation to rebuild their lives following life-changing accidents. Contact pi@ibblaw.co.uk or call 01895 207972 to talk to us about how we can help.