‘PEDALLING’ THE ROAD SAFETY WEEK MESSAGE 

• A cyclist or motorcyclist is killed or seriously injured every hour on British roads
• Two wheeled transport users are 34 times more likely to be killed than car drivers
• Nearly 4 in 10 deaths on British roads involve cyclists or motorcyclists
• Rural roads pose a greater threat to bike riders than busy urban roads
• 'Bike Smart’ urges drivers to slow down
• ‘Bike Smart’ urges drivers to look properly at junctions
• ‘Bike Smart’ recommends the ‘Dutch Reach’ to avoid car dooring cyclists and motor cyclists

Driver Hire, the leading transport & logistics recruitment franchise, is supporting Road Safety Week (November 19^th – 25^th). All of its 100 offices nationwide are being encouraged to share the message on cutting the number of deaths and injuries on UK roads, making them safer for everyone.

Organised by Brake, the national road safety charity, the aim of Road Safety Week is to raise awareness of road safety issues. Provisional estimates for the year to June 2018 show that there were 1770 fatal accidents, a figure that has been largely static since 2012.

The theme for this year’s Road Safety Week is ‘Bikesmart’; the message is all about making the roads a safer environment for people on two wheels – both bikes and motorbikes.

“Figures from Brake show that cyclists and motorcyclists are amongst the most vulnerable road-users,” says Graham Duckworth, Driver Hire’s Franchise Sales Director. “On average, a cyclist or motorcyclist is killed or seriously injured on British roads every hour. Compared to car drivers, they face a 63 times higher risk of injury or death.”

“Supporting worthy national campaigns is all part of the ongoing support we offer all our franchisees,” Graham Duckworth continues. “Driver Hire’s marketing team are assisting our franchised network with a toolkit of shareable resources which include an online new story, a Road Safety Week email template, as well as a plethora of Road Safety Week messages and visual posts which that can be shared via social media.”

Adele Turner is a National Account Manager for Driver Hire. A regular weekend cyclist, until Road Safety Week she’d not tried a rush hour commute by bike. With guidance from two seasoned cycle commuter colleagues, Adele decided to give it a go. “I feel that there is a general lack of awareness of cyclists by other road users. Cars tend to get closer than they should; people park in cycle paths forcing you out into the main flow of heavy traffic. On the Cycling Super Highway there were a number of occasions where motorists didn’t even look before pulling out and then seemed totally surprised to see us there! On the plus side, I did actually feel the benefit of the commute as I was definitely more energised and alert for the day ahead.”