JWS Safety Campaign - 25th September 2002
Contents
Thank you for supporting the launch of Suckling Transport's A Year of Living Safely campaign. The Safety initiative will operate for one-year and end during Road Safety Week in September 2003. Each month, during that year, the company will focus on a different road safety issue. Leaflets and booklets on the subject will be distributed to employees, and appropriate posters will be displayed on company and, where agreed, customer's premises.
Details of the twelve safety issues, to be raised in monthly installments, are enclosed with details of the supporting leaflets and posters we intend to use. As the initiative progresses, we shall be seeking more material on each subject.
As the first issue to be addressed is Speed, we are launching the project by supporting Thurrock Council in their Make the Commitment - Kill your speed' campaign. Visitors to the launch, including employees, customers and suppliers will, we hope, support this very worthwhile initiative by signing one of our 'Make the Commitment' forms. On the form we shall be asking how many miles each person normally drives each year. Our objective is to obtain a commitment to ten million miles of safe driving. The outcome will be announced in the next issue of the Suckling Transport News Bulletin, which will be distributed in November. It you are not on our mailing list please let us know by email, or simply contact Sue Brennan to be included.
Our stand at the launch displays road safety posters, along with safety videos, leaflets, and other items to promote road safety and, on this occasion, specifically speeding. Suckling's new safety kit, comprising disposable camera, bump card and potential incident report card, is also on show. We hope you will take part in our road safety quiz: Who wants to be a safety millionaire', and the winners of our Safety Poster competition for younger relatives of Suckling employees will be announced on the day.
A full list of material used to support the safety awareness programme
over the next year is included inside this bulletin as a separate insert.
The importance of controlling speed cannot be underestimated. Driving too fast to stop in time is the singlebiggest cause of deaths on U.K. roads.
In towns, 7 out of 10 drivers' speed. Yet a few miles over the limit
can make the difference between life and death. In a car, at 35 mph you
are twice as likely to kill a pedestrian you hit as at 30mph.
At 20mph, there is a 90% chance of a pedestrian you hit surviving, at 30mph, there is a 50% chance of survival and at 40mph, there is a 15% chance of survival.
Suckling's a Year of Living Safely Campaign kicks off on the subject of Speeding in October 2003.
One in four accidents on UK major roads is due to sleepiness. Sleepy
drivers kill more people than drink drivers. And sleep related accidents
tend to be more serious that other road accidents. These startling facts
were provided by the Freight Transport Association, who we would like
to thank for providing material for the issue of Fatigue, which is addressed
as part of the campaign in November 2002.
The FTA's informative laminated guide to EU Drivers Hours rules will
be issued to all employees in November.
Alcohol and drugs use are killers on the road. Alcohol is a drug that slows down reaction times, impairs decision making and affects coordination resulting in deaths and injuries.
Despite more that 20 years of Government campaigns against drinking and driving, deaths caused by drinking and driving have not dropped for the past decade. In 2000, the number rose from 460 deaths in 1999 to 520.
Drink driving will, appropriately, be the focus of our attention in December
2002.
British winters are not predictable. Winter can strike suddenly and severely. In extremely bad weather the best advice is to stay off the road. If you must drive, make sure you are prepared for the conditions.
Before setting off on your journey ask yourself if your journey is absolutely essential and check location and national weather forecasts and travel information.
Check that your vehicle is well maintained and serviced, keep lights clean and battery fully charged, check your anti-freeze and windscreen washers and more important check tread depth and pressure.
Adjust your driving to the conditions (hail, heavy snow, rain, roads
which are icy and slushy, rapidly drifting patches of fog, winter sun
and flooded roads). More will be covered in January 2003.
Driving is the most dangerous activity most of us do on a regular basis.
Like operating a piece of dangerous machinery, it requires our full concentration.
We wouldn't dream of chatting on a mobile phone whilst using a chain saw,
so why do we do it when driving? Using a mobile phone while driving, whether
hand-held or hands-free, is distracting and increases the risk of a crash.
The Law says drivers must have proper control of their vehicles at all
times (Regulation 104 of the Road Vehicles (construction and Use) Regulations
1986). You can be prosecuted for careless or inconsiderate driving, or
even dangerous driving, if using a phone causes you to drive in this way.
The penalties include unlimited fine, disqualification and up to two years
imprisonment. It can also be an offence for employers to require their
employees to use mobile phones while driving.
Traveling at high speeds needs extra concentration. The following can
help prevent accidents.
· Join the motorway carefully
· Give way to other road users
· Scan the road
· Follow at a safe distance
· Use indicators
· Leave the motorway safely
· Overtake with care
· Keep in the correct lane
· Be alert for changes in speed limits, road conditions.
· Careful braking (gradually and gently).
· If you begin to feel tired come off the motorway and find a place
to stop.
'Wearing a seal belt saves lives' for your own and others safety, the law requires you to use a seat belt if one is fitted.
Since 1983, when it became a legal requirement, many people have been
spared death or serious injury by wearing seat belts. 
Everyone knows they should wear a seat belt in the front seat, but many
people still don't realize how dangerous it is not to wear a seat belt
in the back. In a crash at 30mph, if you are unrestrained, you will hit
the front seat, and anyone in it, with a force of between 30 to 60 times
your own body weight. Such an impact could result in death or serious
injury to both yourself and front seat occupants.
Drugs use is also increasingly being recognized as a major factor in death on the road. In a study by the TRL of crashes in the late 1990s, 24% of people killed in crashes had used an illegal drug or a medicinal drug that could have impaired their driving.
We shall be covering more on this subject in May 2003.
Our subject in June 2003 is eyesight. Good eyesight is obviously an essential
criteria for driving, but is often 
overlooked.
It has been found that one in 10 drivers' eyesight was below the legal
minimum requirement.
By law, a motorbike, car or truck drivers must be able to read a number
plate at 20.5 metres. Drivers should also have a good field of vision
(120 degrees).
Deaths in the transport depot are all too common. Often changes to lighting and vehicle parking arrangements can make immediate and effective improvement.
In July 2003 we will, therefore, be looking at vehicle safety in the workplace, and taking recommendations and guidelines from two useful books: Workplace transport safety and Managing vehicle safety in the workplace. We will also be issuing free stickers produced by the DTLR - Be seen to be safe.
The focus this month will concentrate on the wearing of reflective jackets
in the workplace; the way vehicles are parked; and how we can separate
pedestrians from vehicles in this very dangerous environment.
Accidents which occur when reversing are all too common yet easily preventable if sensible procedures are followed.
These incidents often results in minor damage, such as bent wing mirrors and bumpers. However, they can be fatal. The larger the vehicle, the more chance of death or serious injury. Official statistics suggest that 1.5% of road accidents involve reversing.
Basic rules will be hi-lighted in our campaign in August 2003.
Safe driving and Road Safety depends on a safe vehicle and making sure you as a driver are fit enough to drive.
Put safety first when you drive, driving too fast and taking other risks
on the road can cause serious accidents. Make sure you are alert, don't
drink alcohol or take drugs. Plan your journey with plenty of rest. Remember
you need two hands on the wheel, two eyes on the road and your whole mind
on your driving. Use extra care on the motorway, as higher speeds need
extra concentration. Special driving conditions need special care. If
your vehicle develops trouble and you need to stop, be extremely careful.
Accidents can happen, know what to do if one happens to you!!
The contestant with the most points at the end of the Launch day will receive a package of goodies, including items from the 'Make the Commitment' campaign, Suckling pens and place mats, etc, and, our course, get a mention in the next issue of Suckling Transports New Bulletin.
1. When is a driver exempt from wearing a seat belt?
(a) In a car fitted with air bags
(b) When reversing
(c) When pregnant
(d) When you think you may be pregnant.
2. The number of people killed in road accidents in GB in 2000 was?
(a) 174 (b) 2,180
(c) 3,409 (d) 8,028
(a) 1% (b) 5%
(c) 10% (d) 50%
4. What of the following items are you not allowed to use to warn other
drivers that you are stationary in the road ahead?
(a) A red and white cone
(b) A red warning triangle
(c) A flashing amber light
(d) A yellow flag
(a) 100 (b) 200
(c) 300 (d) 400
6. In a crash at 30mph, a passenger in the rear seat will project forward
at a force of?
(a) twice their body weight
(b) 10-20 times their body weight.
(c) 30-60 times their body weight
(d) 80-100 times their body weight.
7. The number of deaths caused by drink driving in GB in 2000 was?
(a) 123 (b) 238
(c) 360 (d) 400
8. At about what time do most road accidents caused by fatigue occur?
(a) 3am (b) 9am
(c) 10pm (d) Midnight
9. Using a mobile phone whilst driving is classed as dangerous driving.
What is the maximum sentence for causing death by dangerous driving in
this way?
(a) £1000 Fine (b) 6 points
(c) 1 year (d) 2 years
10. The minimum tyre depth on a car is?
(a) 1mm across ¾ of the tyre width
(b) 1mm across the whole of the tyre width
(d) 1.6mm across the whole of the tyre width
11. A crash at 60 miles per hour is the equivalent of driving off a
(a) 2 storey building
(b) 6 storey building
(c) 8 storey building
(d) 12 storey building
12. Which of the following offences carries automatic disqualification
and possible imprisonment?
(a) Exceeding speed limit on motorway
(b) Dangerous driving
(c) Using vehicle uninsured for third party risks
(d) Failing to submit a specimen for roadside breath test.
13. When was the first fatal road accident in Britain?
(a) 1899 (b) 1909
(c) 1919 (d) 1929
(a) £9,920m (b) £13,920m
(c) £16,920m (d) £19,920m
15. What was the total number of casualties on GB roads in 2000?
(a) 120,283 (b) 220,283
(c) 320,283 (d) 420,283
Suckling Transport would like to thank the following people who served on the Safety Launch committee:
Peter Larner - Managing Director
Perry Southgate - Safety Manager
Sue Brennan - Launch Co-ordinator
Mick Smith - General Manager
Tim Gough - Depot Representative