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ROAD
SAFETY NEWS - WEEK COMMENCING 5 APRIL 2004
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RoSPA publishes
multi-lingual road safety book
A new tool to help children with English as a second language
to stay safe on the road is being launched by RoSPA.
RoSPA is publishing a large, colourful book with pictures and
simple text in Urdu, Bengali and Punjabi as well as English to
assist teachers, classroom assistants and parent helpers in promoting
key road safety messages.
Aimed at five to seven year-olds, it has been produced with the
support of DfT and will be distributed to road safety officers
for use in schools.
The free, spiral-bound aid promotes basic road safety messages
for children such as ‘hold hands’, ‘stop', 'look
and listen’ and ‘find a safe place to cross’, and
is designed for use on a desktop by an adult leading a small group.
While children view the pictures and text it allows the teacher
to read notes on the reverse side.
"This resource gives important life-saving messages in a
way that is easily understood by children and simple to communicate
for teachers," says Linda Morrison Allsopp, RoSPA
road safety project manager. "At a time when the Government
is striving to reduce deaths and serious injuries among children
on Britain's roads by 50 per cent, it is essential that we do
all we can to promote road safety among all sections of the community."
More @ http://www.rospa.co.uk.
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DfT
publishes ‘older driver’ research
New research into 'Older drivers, illness and medication' has been
published on the DfT website. The summary of the research states:
Changes in the make-up of our population and society in general
mean that more older people are driving and continuing to drive,
and older people are driving many more miles than ever before; it
can rarely be assumed that any adult patient does not drive.
However, older people are more likely to be suffering from serious
illnesses, often from several different disease processes, and are
more likely to be taking prescribed medication that may influence
their ability to drive safely. This is in addition to any age-related
cognitive and physical limitations they may be experiencing.
Older people are also much more vulnerable to injury and death in
an accident because of their increased physical frailty. In addition
to the added complication of normal age-related changes which may
affect driving skill, and the increased incidence of disease, older
patients are a particular concern with respect to the effects of
medication because of changes in metabolism and reductions in spare
capacity in both physiological terms such as homeostatic mechanisms
or efficiency of drug excretion, and in cognitive terms such as
reduced information processing capacity, reduced peripheral attention
and speed of reaction. It is suggested that a model of ‘severity
of all combined effects’ is the most appropriate one to take
when giving advice to older patients, taking into account any obvious
evidence of normal age-related changes, such as changes in eyesight,
speed and strength of movement, slowing of reaction times, in combination
with the possible effects of disease and the medication prescribed.
For a link to the full report go to http://www.pacts.org.uk/news/newsframe.htm. |
New
website tackles at work road safety
A new website - www.orsa.org.uk
- has been launched to raise awareness of work-related road safety
and to encourage businesses to manage at work-road risk more effectively.
The Occupational Road Safety Alliance site has been developed
with DfT support. It provides ORSA members and others in the road
safety and occupational safety communities with access to up-to-the
minute information and new developments about managing occupational
road risk.
ORSA brings together employers, trade unions, local authorities,
police forces, safety organisations, and professional and trade
associations to reduce work-related deaths and injuries on Britain's
roads.
Between 800 and 1,100 road deaths each year involve someone who
was at work at the time. These include all types of road user -
drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists, pedestrians and those working
at the side of the road. One of the biggest problems is with company
car drivers, who have 50 per cent more accidents than those driving
for domestic purposes.
The site gives advice on how organisations can develop an action
plan to deal with problems and also details facts and figures, the
legal situation, the business case, resources and training providers.
"ORSA now has 67 members and believes that all employers, large
or small, private or public, should seek to develop a systematic
approach to managing occupational road risk," says Kevin
Clinton, RoSPA head of road safety. "They need to be
sure they have the correct people, policies and procedures in place
to ensure the safety of their employees and other road users.
"ORSA wants more employers to sign up to the challenge to improve
road safety. Details about joining can be found on the website."
To view the website go to www.orsa.org.uk. |
Speeders
to view speeding offences online
Wiltshire and Swindon Safety Camera Partnership (WSSCP) has
announced the development a web-based portal that will integrate
with the system that produces photographs from speed cameras, enabling
drivers to view evidence of an offence online.
In
a move to encourage the public to slow down and understand why
they are being penalised, people will also have access to information
and statistics about crashes and fatalities that have occurred
on the roads where speed cameras are placed. According to WSSCP,
the project - which is expected to provide a return on investment
within 12 months - will also ensure the Partnership is fully compliant
with the Freedom of Information Act, which is due to come into
force in 2005.
"The new Act means that we will need to provide the public
with much more information in relation to speeding offences,"
comments David Frampton. "The portal will not
only make it much easier for us to meet our obligations under
the Act, but it also addresses some of the high profile concerns
the public has about speed enforcement. People will be able to
log onto a website that will give them immediate access to evidence
relating to an alleged speeding offence and information about
the collisions in the local area - which should help them understand
why speed cameras have been placed in certain locations.
For more information contact David Frampton on 01249 440670.
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PACTS
assesses 2010 targets to mark World Health Day
PACTS has published a review of progress towards the 2010
road safety targets to coincide with World Health Day on 7 April.
The policy briefing reviews progress towards targets to reduce UK
road casualties by 2010, stating that these targets are vital not
only for reducing the number of people killed or injured on the
roads in the UK but also for further developing best practice in
road safety. As the UK is a world leader in road safety, disseminating
this knowledge and sharing experiences can contribute to dealing
with road casualties as a global public health concern, the briefing
adds.
To read the briefing in full go to http://www.pacts.org.uk/news/newsframe.htm. |
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