Cleveland Fire Brigade is shining a light on road safety to support people across Cleveland, including our key workers, stay safe while travelling this winter.
Staff have handed over FREE light-up reflectors and ice scrapers to staff at North and South Tees hospitals to make sure NHS staff are visible on the roads as part of the Be Safe Be Seen campaign.
Shockingly someone is injured on a UK road every four minutes. And last November there were nearly 30 incidents on Cleveland’s roads with one person killed and 74 others sustaining injuries.
Cleveland Fire Brigade attended over 300 road traffic collisions in 2018/19 and since April this year have already attended over a hundred incidents.
In the last 12 months there have been 110 accidents involving cyclists, including three fatalities.
Andrew Bright, Cleveland Fire Brigade’s Road Safety Co-ordinator said: “With the shorter days and darker nights now here it is vitally important that all road users can be seen. The Covid-19 crisis has resulted in more people cycling, running and walking which is great, but we need to keep all road users safe.
“Pedestrians can go unnoticed as they simply cannot be seen. By wearing reflective clothing or attaching light reflectors to bags or clothing accidents can be avoided and lives saved. You can even attach light reflectors to your dogs lead to help you both be visible to other road users.
“Cyclist should have lights and reflectors on their bikes but can further enhance their visibility using additional reflectors.
“For drivers it is important that you carry out winter checks on your vehicles to make sure your tyres have sufficient tread and are correctly inflated, lights should be in good working order and remember to switch them on. Drivers also need to check levels of fuel, oil and water and don’t set off until windows are clear and you have full visibility.”
He added that drivers should listen to weather updates and allow more times for journeys if road conditions are challenging.
The initiative is part of the Brigade’s designated road safety month which also includes the national annual BRAKE Road Safety Week (16-22 November) which this year focuses on ‘No Need to Speed’.
For more information on staying safe on the roads visit their website www.clevelandfire.gov.uk