Second UN Global Road Safety Week

The Second UN Global Road Safety Week to be held 6-12 May 2013 is dedicated to pedestrian safety. Requested by the UN General Assembly, the Week will draw attention to the urgent need to better protect pedestrians worldwide, generate action on the measures needed to do so, and contribute to achieving the goal of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 to save 5 million lives. Join the international community to ensure a fatality free Week and a significant and long-lasting contribution towards making walking safe for all.

Click on http://www.who.int/roadsafety/week/2013/en/index.html or http://www.roadsafetygb.org.uk/ for further information.

Launch of Pedestrian Safety Good Practice Manual

Each year, more than 270 000 pedestrians lose their lives on the world’s roads. Many leave their homes as they would on any given day never to return. Globally, pedestrians constitute 22% of all road traffic fatalities, and in some countries this proportion is as high as two thirds of all road traffic deaths.

April saw the World Health Organization, together with partner organizations including the Global Road Safety Partnership, launch the sixth in a growing series of road safety Good Practice manuals, this edition entitled ‘Pedestrian safety: a road safety manual for decision-makers and practitioners’.

Launched just weeks ahead of the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration Global Road Safety Week (May 6-12), this year dedicated to pedestrian safety, the manual equips the reader with necessary information on: the magnitude of pedestrian death and injury; key risk factors; how to assess the pedestrian safety situation in a country or area and prepare an action plan; and how to select, design, implement and evaluate effective interventions.

The manual stresses the importance of a comprehensive, holistic approach that includes enforcement, engineering and education. It also draws attention to the benefits of walking, which should be promoted as an important mode of transport given its potential to improve health and preserve the environment.

Click here for more details and to download the full report.

Children’s Traffic Club is Mum Friendly

Delighted that Jo on http://www.mum-friendly.co.uk took the time to extol the benefits of  our award winning Children’s Traffic Club through her blog. Jo wrote:

When I was young we had all manner of great things teaching us about road safety – the Tufty Club and the Green Cross Code man. I’m not sure what happened after that, but now H is an age where road awareness is something that is important, I looked around to see what was on offer.

It was only after H’s last open day at nursery I spotted The Children’s Traffic Club – a fairly easy name to remember (which I promptly forgot), though after googling I found them and duly signed up. Her open day was early February, and her pack arrived today around three weeks later. The club is aimed at 3-4 year olds and it’s free. So, what do you get? An activity book – one page per week plus four sheets of stickers, a certificate to confirm you’re in the club and a DVD with various activities and songs (put to the same tunes as nursery rhymes, so you get ‘this is the way we all hold hands’ or ‘play play play our games’ and so on) – there are sixteen weeks of activities then we’ll be sent the next DVD in the set.

H’s nursery is on a busy road, and we’ve already been practising looking left and right (apart when the really annoying parents park on the dropped kerb right outside the entrance blocking the view up the road, gee thanks), and I think this will complement what it already being taught.

So this isn’t a review, I’ll come back to this in a few weeks but just helping spread the word – it’s a fantastic idea and something more people should know about. Sign up today!

Thanks Jo for your kind comments from The Children’s Traffic Club.

Child road safety adverts scrapped

According to the Daily Mail television adverts teaching children how to cross roads safely have been scrapped for the first time in six decades despite a rise in the number of deaths.

Campaigns featuring characters such as Tufty the Squirrel and the Green Cross Code man have helped save thousands of lives.

But warnings about the dangers of traffic will become a thing of the past after budget cuts forced the Department for Transport to ditch TV and cinema adverts.

Helping hand: Tufty the Squirrel became so popular that a nationwide Tufty Club was formed, which at its height had a staggering two million members

Pressure groups last night called on Ministers to reverse the decision. Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), said: ‘While road safety must face its share of cuts, road accidents are an enormous financial burden that the country can ill afford.

‘Investing in preventing road casualties makes a significant economic contribution and helps save lives and prevent injuries.’

Dave Prowse, who played the Green Cross Code man for more than a decade, said: ‘We had a fantastic effect on reducing road accident figures and we need the same thing now as the traffic situation is worse than ever.’

‘Stop, look and listen’: Green Cross Code man taught pupils to be careful before stepping off the pavement

He pointed out the Government could save money by simply repeating old public information films in which he starred as a white and green-clad superhero who appeared by busy roads to stop children being hit by cars.

Shadow Transport Secretary Maria Eagle said: ‘This Government must take responsibility if these cuts mean more children are killed or injured on our roads.’

The first road-safety film was broadcast in 1948 to teach people how to use zebra crossings. Five years later a character called Tufty Fluffytail was introduced by RoSPA to teach children how to cross the road. Later clips featured puppets and were narrated by actor Bernard Cribbins.

Children’s Traffic Club Free in North Yorkshire

Every parent wants to make sure that their child learns how to be safe when they are out and about.

 

Early education is essential because children learn from their parents and research has shown that behaviour can be set for life by the time a child is four or five years old.

The 95 Alive Road Safety Partnership is using Department of Transport grant funding to offer a limited number of free Children’s Traffic Club memberships to children who live in North Yorkshire.

The Children’s Traffic Club is a road safety programme for children aged three years old and their parents or carers. It helps parents and carers teach their children how to be safer when they are out walking, playing or travelling in cars, buses and trains.

As a member of the club, a child will receive three DVD packs by post (one every four months) providing a year’s worth of stories to listen to, songs to sing and games to play – all helping them to learn lifesaving messages.

Each pack contains 16 weeks of activities and material to work through with children, offering a great way to help children remember important road safety messages.

 

The club strives to influence children’s attitudes and behaviour on and around roads by engaging them in a fun way. It also aims to inspire, involve and motivate young children and to engage their parents and carers through multi-sensory learning.If you are the parent or carer of a three or four-year-old who lives in North Yorkshire why not sign up for free by visiting www.childrenstrafficclub.com    where there are a  limited number available.

Farmers’ Union call for rural roads test.

THE National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs has called for rural roads to be included in the national driving test at a meeting with the Road Safety Minister Stephen Hammond MP.

NFYFC Chairman Milly Wastie met with the minister to discuss the federation’s new rural road safety campaign Drive it Home, which is supported by NFU Mutual, and to highlight the issues affecting young people who live and work in rural communities.

Statistics show that rural young drivers are 37% more likely to have an injury collision on a rural road than those who live in an urban area.

The NFYFC also discussed with the Minister the possibility of introducing a national scheme where young drivers could gain further driving certificates following on from their initial test. As a result of the meeting, the NFYFC has been offered opportunity to input into future Government consultation on road safety.

The NFYFC campaign, called Drive it Home, launched in November last year and aims to reduce the number of incidents involving young drivers. The majority of NFYFC’s 24,000 members live and work in rural communities putting them in a high risk category for incidents on rural roads. The lack of public transport links in many of these areas mean many NFYFC members have little option but to start driving young.

The campaign is being supported by leading rural insurer NFU Mutual to create hundreds of rural driving ambassadors who can speak to young people in their own language and inspire a generation of drivers about the inherent risks and responsible driving skills needed on rural roads.

London comes out on top

Analysis of 2011 casualty stats shows that London was the top performer while the south east region performed least well, in terms of year-on-year casualty reduction, according to the IAM.

The IAM has analysed the DfT’s annual casualty report for 2011, which shows that the rate of reported killed or seriously injured (KSI) casualties in south east England increased by 10% compared with 2010, which corresponds to 45 more KSI incidents per million people.

Meanwhile in London the number of KSIs decreased by 6% compared with the previous year. And in the north of England (north west, north east and Yorkshire and the Humber) there was very little movement either way. However, the north east of England has the lowest rate of KSI casualties of all regions (329 per million).

Simon Best, IAM chief executive, said: “It is unacceptable that road deaths and serious injuries have risen since 2010 in several regions, as well as at a national level.

“Ministers should take this as a serious warning. Cutting road safety education and reductions in local authority spending all suggest that road safety isn’t a major priority for this Government.

“The Government must bring back targets for road safety. While our real aim should be for no deaths or injuries – as is the case on the railways – simply meeting the European target of reducing deaths by 50% by 2020 would in itself save 1,000 lives.”

Road deaths increase in GB for 2011

The DfT has confirmed that road deaths increased in 2011 for the first time since 2003.

The increase is confirmed in the DfT’s annual road casualty report, ‘Reported Road Casualties in Great Britain: 2011 Annual Report’, published today (27 September). The final figures are in line with provisional figures released by the DfT in June.

The report shows that road deaths in 2011 rose by 3%, from 1,850 in 2010 to 1,901. It also reveals that child deaths increased from 55 in 2010 to 60 in 2011; collisions resulting in serious injuries increased by 2%; pedestrian deaths rose by 12%; and the number of seriously injured pedestrians increased by 5%.

In contrast, total casualties of all severity were 2% lower than in 2010, while motor vehicle traffic increased slightly, by 0.2% over the period.

The number of cyclists killed fell from 111 to 107, despite an increase in the number of cyclists on the road. However, seriously injured cyclists increased by 16%, to 3,085.

The report also revealed a fall in the number of motorcycle deaths, which decreased by 10%, to 362. However, this was accompanied by 10% and 8% increases in motorcycle serious injuries and overall casualties.

Robert Gifford, executive director of PACTS, said “Of particular concern are the rise of 6% in car occupants and 10% in deaths on built-up roads. It is on these roads where vulnerable road users are most at risk. After years of progress in improving pedestrian safety in our towns and cities, we do not want to see this group suffer through cuts in road engineering or enforcement.
 
“It is also concerning to note the increase of 10% in casualties among cyclists going to and from work. Cycling casualties between 7am and 10am and 4pm and 7pm on Monday to Thursday have risen from 6,249 to 6,932. We must continue to make the commute to work a safer journey for cyclists, especially since this form of road use is rising.
 
“The new Secretary of State has identified that road safety remains a key priority for his department and for the government. These figures show him clearly why this should be so. For deaths to rise in the time of a recession and when traffic levels have remained broadly static suggests that our roads are becoming more dangerous for citizens rather than safer.”

Capturing the moment!

 

A Google Streetview image of Westgate Drive Auckland showing a child lying in the road during a what is described as a road safety drill.

At first glance, it appears Google has snapped the moment before a horrific accident – a boy lying face-down on the road, a car about to run him over.

Among the onlookers, three children seem to stand paralysed with fear, hands out to try to stop the car.

But the image is just a West Auckland primary school running through a standard road safety tutorial with the local police constable.

Royal Road Primary School said the Google vehicle that took the images for the site’s street view function in 2009 happened to go past in the middle of their training.

The school said it was a “set-up” photo to be used in a road safety presentation. “During the presentation, this photo would show the children what could happen if they were to dash out in front of a car on the road.”

The scene was controlled by a police officer and several adult helpers to ensure the safety of the children, the school told the Herald.

The image was plain to see on Wednesday but the child lying in the middle of the road has now been blurred out after Google was alerted.

Precious Passengers

Road safety charity The Institute of Advanced Motorists  are offering weekly motoring tips from a guest advanced driver, this week Amanda Smith advised on driving whilst pregnant.

Amanda provided the following information for expectant Mums:-

• Protect your baby and belt up. Your seat belt is the only thing stopping you from flying forward and hitting your abdomen on the steering wheel.
• Wear the lap strap below your bump, as low as possible, from hip-bone to hip-bone.
• Keep the diagonal strap between your breasts, moving the strap around the side of your bump.
• Incorrect use can harm the baby in the case of a collision, so always make sure the seatbelt is worn above and below the bump, not over the middle.
• Adjust the fit of your belt to be as snug and comfortable as possible.
• You can move the seat back, as long as you adjust your mirrors accordingly and can reach the brake, accelerator and clutch.

Amanda Smith said: “There is much advice available on whether or not it is safe to drive while you’re pregnant. As long as you feel well and are comfortable, you can continue to drive up until labour.”