Every year, the road safety charity Brake host their Road Safety Week campaign, a weeklong endeavour to improve road safety for all road users, be they cars, trucks, pedal bikes or pedestrians. This year, the theme for the week is ‘Safe Roads for All’, a look into how we as a road community can improve road travel for everyone.
Starting the week commencing 14th November, this year’s Road Safety Week encourages organisations and the public to come together to make the roads better for everyone by highlighting key issues and offering resources.
In particular, Brake is hoping that this year’s campaign will be able to emphasis the recent changes to the Highway Code (including the new hierarchy of road users), ideal speeds for vehicles of all types, and how to make roads a more inclusive area where everyone can feel safe.
Changes to the Highway Code
Considering how important they are, let’s take a quick look at the recent changes to the Highway Code and how they affect you.
The major changes to the Highway Code revolve around the hierarchy on the road. As many people are aware, while on the road there is a natural hierarchy, a set of guidelines, to help navigate who should go first and who has the right of way. This hierarchy is incredibly important and helps facilitate the natural flow of road users.
This is also why it’s so important to know that, according to the Highway Code, this hierarchy has now changed.
Namely, the burden of responsibility has shifted from those who cause the least potential for harm, such as pedestrians and cyclists, to those who cause the most potential for harm, such as lorries and trucks.
This doesn’t mean that pedestrians now always have the right of way regardless of the situation, but rather this change will 'ensure a more mutually respectful and considerate culture of safe and effective road use that benefits all users'.
The changes also mean that drivers must now give way to cyclists when they are turning into or out of a junction or changing direction or lane, just as you would to other motor vehicles. This makes it all the more important to double check those mirrors and your blind spots before making any manoeuvres.
For a full breakdown of the Highway Code changes, check out our previous article about it which goes into far more details.
Keeping your vehicle safe on the road
Part of our responsibility as road users includes ensuring that the vehicle we are driving, be that a car, lorry or even our regular push-bikes, are maintained properly so as not to cause a critical failure – this protects not just ourselves, but other road users as well.
The best way to ensure this is to, of course, service your vehicle at its regular and recommended intervals. It’s also important to check over your vehicle yourself, especially if you are planning on going on a long trip. Some common problem areas you should pay attention to are your tyres and brakes.
Tyres
Your tyres should always be you first go-to when you check your car over for issues. As the main point of contact to the road, they are constantly exposed to potential hazards, and they are often the first part of the car to show wear and tear.
Make sure to inspect your tyres for any cuts or abrasions, or something embedded in them (such as stones or nails). You should also check the tyres’ tread – the legal limit is 1.6mm, but it is recommended the tread is at least 3mm deep. You also need to ensure that there are no bulges in the tyre, as these will mean there is a serious issue with your tyre and will need replacing. For a more in-depth description of how to check your tyres, read our article that takes you through the entire process.
You can also find new tyres at Autoparts.com; we have quality brands available at fantastic prices for every kind of vehicle.
Brakes
Your brakes are important. Obviously. You need to know with absolute certainty that they won’t let you down because it could literally be a life-or-death situation.
There are many parts to checking your brakes, but a key thing area are your brake pads, the bit that grips the disc and stops the wheel.
To check your brake pads, you need to have a look at them behind your wheel and inspect their thickness. As we use our brakes, they get worn down, making them less effective. It is recommended that when your brake pads are around a quarter-inch thick, you should start looking to get them replaced. To help with this, many brake pads include a ‘wear indicator slot’ down the middle of the brake. If the slot is gone (as in, the brake is now completely smooth) or barely there, then you know your brake pads are too thin and they need replacing.
For more info about when to change your brakes, here’s a post we did earlier explaining it all.
Also, check out our list of quality brake parts if you feel like yours may be due a change.
How Road Safety Week is making a difference
Road Safety Week is an amazing opportunity for us to connect as a community and to make our roads safer and better. By introducing these vital concepts to the younger generations and providing the support and resources to affect real change, Brake is helping to create safer roads across the UK.
And as more people move away from cars and embrace greener alternatives, we need to update our roads to better accommodate this growing part of the road community.
If you would like to stay up to date with future Road Safety Week events and news, or would even like to get involved, jump on over to Brake for all the info.
Header image credit: Andrea Piacquadio via Pexels.com
