Brake, the road safety charity, has commented on the EuroRAP report and is recommending longer crash barriers on motorways and dual carriageways around the UK, for better crash protection.
However they are not recommending that many of Britain’s A roads should be upgraded with crash barriers as it might encourage drivers to drive faster.
Brake, the registered road safety charity dedicated to reducing road deaths and injuries, is holding an International congress on tackling speed, on the 13th May 2010 in London.
The congress will be held at the Royal College of Surgeons, bringing together world experts to discuss:
Speakers include academics from the University of Leeds, Strathclyde University, the London School of Tropical Medicine, plus practitioners from government agencies.
Full details and attendance prices are available at www.brake.org/speed
Brake, the road safety charity, is targeting fleet managers with a new safety campaign aimed at educating them and their company car drivers to improve safety on UK roads. A dedicated website has been set up with a range of e-learning tools to help promote the campaign. There will also be a series of one-day workshops for fleet managers.
The dedicated website is located at www.pledgetodrivesafely.org
The seven road safety critical pledges being promoted via the campaign are as follows.
- Sober up
- Wake Up
- Buck Up
- Check up
- Belt Up
- Shut Up
- Slow Down
Mary Williams OBE, Chief Executive at Brake said,”The Pledge is a simple campaign with simple messages, but with enormous potential to save lives. I urge fleet managers to attend the workshop and to get started with rolling out these fantastic new resources”.
Research shows that drivers are 2 to 2.5 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash between 50mg and 80mg. Brake, the road safety charity, has called on the UK government to follow the example of Ireland to reduce the UK limits as well and to step up enforcement of the law. Brake also intends to highlight the dangers of drink and drug driving during the Brake Road Safety Week 2009 between November 23-29).
Whiplash causes serious injuries with circa 1,184 claims for personal injury every day. Research by Brake and Direct Line, showed that two out of three drivers never or rarely checked the position of their head restraints.
Employers with fleet vehicles are invited to attend the low-cost workshop at Thatcham in Berkshire on Wednesday the 2nd December 2009 from 12.30pm until 4pm. At this forum, all the latest technologies being employed in head restraint design will be explained and you can meet experts from the Thatcham crash laboratory.
Tickets can be obtained by calling Brake on 01484 559909 or e-mail admin@brake.org.uk
Motorists are being warned that a drink in the sun could put you over the limit and you could up in jail. The Breathalyser manufacturer AlcoSense has revealed that no less than 96% of all respondents underestimated the number of units in a pint of (6% ABV) lager and 97% of respondents underestimated the number of units in a 250ml glass of wine (13% ABV).
Both of these drinks contain 3.4 units of alcohol yet the most popular answer was 2 units. With the current Drink drive law there is in effect a 2 unit limit, therefore most people don’t realise they are putting themselves and others at risk by driving while over the drink drive limit.
The survey questions were:-
To the nearest ½ unit, how many units of alcohol are in the following drinks?
A 250ML glass of 13% ABV wine 2.8% CORRECT (3.4 units)
| 1 unit | 1.5 units | 2 units | 2.5 units | 3 units | 3.5 units |
| 13.4% | 26.5% | 35.6% | 11.8% | 9.9% | 2.8% |
A pint of medium strength lager 6% ABV 4.1% CORRECT (3.4 units)
| 1 unit | 1.5 units | 2 units | 2.5 units | 3 units | 3.5 units |
| 2.4% | 19.4% | 30.9% | 25.3% | 17.9% | 4.1% |
Commenting on the results of this survey, Hunter Abbott CEO of AlcoSense said “This is worrying for the evening, but even more worrying for the morning after as people are vastly underestimating just how much alcohol they have consumed. Only 4 of these drinks could put you over the limit the following morning. In both instances the only way to tell if the alcohol has left your system is to use an accurate personal breathalyser like AlcoSense”.
AlcoSense Breathalyser
Katie Shephard, fund raising manager at BRAKE, the national road safety charity, said “Nearly one in six of all deaths on the road involve drivers who are over the legal limit. Most people don’t even consider after a night of moderate drinking they may still be over the limit to drive, well into the next day. Because everyone is different you cannot guess when the alcohol has passed from your system the morning after. A great way to tell is to use an accurate personal breathalyser like AlcoSense.
The breathalyser is about the size of a mobile phone and is available from Rowland Pharmacies, Maplin Electronics or AlcoSense direct. Prices start from £34.99 for the Lite and £59.99 for the Elite model.