Speed Down to Save Lives

Road Safety Week is the UK's biggest road safety event, coordinated annually by Brake, the road safety charity.

According to Brake, speeding is still a major problem in the UK causing needless crashes, untold suffering and life-changing accidents.

Breaking the speed limit or travelling too fast for conditions is recorded by police at crash scenes as a contributory factor in one in four (23%) fatal crashes in Great Britain and a recent survey by
Brake found that four in 10 (40%) UK drivers admitted they sometimes drive at 30mph in 20mph zones.

We all lead busy lives and are often in a rush, but taking extra care while driving and slowing down will lead to safer roads and fewer accidents.

The Good Garage Scheme joins with Brake once again to encourage all motorists to Speed Down Save Lives. Hopefully the good habits we put in practice this week will remind us to drive with care throughout the year.

For more information about Brake, please visit their website.

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Are You Sitting Comfortably?

With many drivers taking to the road this weekend for the May Bank Holiday, we offer welcome advice from IAM Roadsmart on avoiding muscle aches. 

We don't always think about our posture while driving despite spending many hours at the wheel. 
Here are some driving tips from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman.

 

Be mindful of your posture

As a driver it’s important to avoid positions that can cause muscle ache. Before you move off, try adjusting your car seat to a secure position that allows you to stay alert and maintain good visibility.
An incorrect seat position will not only be uncomfortable but may affect your ability to operate the vehicle controls.

Sometimes a nibble goes a long way

Pull over and have something to eat, but try and make sure that your snacks aren’t too sugar loaded – you may experience an energy crash later on.
Stay nourished and hydrated – your brain needs food to maintain concentration.

Wear the right attire

Avoid uncomfortable footwear that provides little sole support, such as high heels and especially flip flops.
In an event where you may need to brake firmly, the support of the soles of your shoes always helps.

Travel safe

It’s always a good idea to take out travel insurance so that you're covered in the event of an accident or emergency.

The Good Garage Scheme reminds motorists to have their cars checked at a local Good Garage Scheme member garage prior to a long journey for peace of mind.  Visit www.GoodGarageScheme.com to find one local to you and ask for a Holiday Check.

Get the games out!

Journeys do not always have to be dull and repetitive. Plan ahead and get some fun games organised for the younger ones on board. This will make the journey feel miles faster and smoother, allowing you to concentrate on your driving.

Richard Gladman is IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards.

IAM RoadSmart has a mission to make better drivers and riders in order to improve road safety, inspire confidence and make driving and riding enjoyable.

To find out more about IAM RoadSmart products and services visit www.IamRoadSmart.com


 

Make the BRAKE Pledge

The Good Garage Scheme, along with thousands of organisations, schools and community groups will be backing this year's Make the Brake Pledge campaign during Road Safety Week running from 21st - 27th November this year.

Road Safety Week is the UK’s biggest road safety event and is coordinated by Brake, the road safety charity. The Make the Brake Pledge, is about people all over the country understanding six key things they can do to protect themselves and the people around them, and reduce emissions and pollution from vehicles. 

Every day, five people are killed and more than 60 people are seriously injured on UK roads..

Brake is asking everyone to help end this needless suffering by spreading the word in Road Safety Week about the life-saving importance of the Pledge.

Find out more about Road Safety Week and the Brake Pledge.

Tweet your support: @Brakecharity, #RoadSafetyWeek, #brakepledge.

Brake was founded in the UK in 1995, and now has domestic operations in the UK and New Zealand, and works globally to promote action on road safety.
For more information about Brake, visit www.brake.org.uk

It's Not Smart to use a Smartphone when Driving

Driving is a highly unpredictable and risky activity requiring our full concentration at all times. Drivers who divide their attention between their phone and the road are significantly increasing their risk of causing a devastating crash.

Reading and writing messages – whether texting, emailing or using apps or social networks – while driving is even more distracting than talking on a phone, as it takes your mind, hands and eyes off the road. Texting drivers’ reaction times are 35% slower and they also have poor lane control. One large-scale study found texting drivers were 23 times more likely to crash than a driver paying full attention.

A recent survey by Brake, the road safety charity, revealed that  around half of drivers aged between 25 and 34 are taking huge risks by texting, using apps or going online on their mobiles when they are behind the wheel.

• Almost half of drivers aged 25-34 use apps while driving (49%)
• More than half of 25-34 year olds read or write text messages while driving (55%)
• Drivers aged 18-35 are most likely to text or use apps behind the wheel

In addition, one in five young drivers (18-24) confirmed they regularly text and/or instant message when they are behind the wheel.

Reaching for a mobile phone can be an irresistible temptation for some, despite knowledge of the risks. In the UK, experts have warned of increasing levels of smartphone addiction by users who are unable to go without checking their phone for short periods.


Brake advises motorists to put mobile phones on silent and out of reach when driving to avoid any distraction.

The Good Garage Scheme supports the charity Brake and is grateful to share their advice in this week's blog. For more information about Brake, please visit www.brake.org.uk

For full report from Brake, visit their website.

Phones and Driving, a Deadly Combination

We all agree that driving is a highly unpredictable and risky activity requiring full concentration at all times. Drivers who divide their attention, because they're on the phone or distracted by something else, are significantly increasing their risk of causing a devastating crash.

Despite this, many drivers try to multitask – with mobile phones or other distractions such as eating – dramatically increasing their risk of causing a crash. More than two in five crashes are thought to be caused, at least in part, by driver distraction.

According to the Road Safety Charity, Brake, if you talk on a phone at the wheel – hands-free or hand-held – your risk of causing an injury or death is four times as high. Use a phone to text, email or browse the internet and the risk is much higher still. In fact, the impact of using a phone on reaction times is on a par with drink driving. Yet a huge proportion of drivers put themselves and others in danger for the sake of a call or message, whether flouting the law by using a hand-held phone, or wrongly believing that hands-free is a safe alternative.

What needs to be done?

Drivers can help make our roads safer by putting phones out of sight and reach when driving to avoid temptation, ideally in the boot. On long journeys, you should take regular breaks and use these to check for messages. Phones and driving are a deadly combination, and no call or message is worth a life.

Brake are calling on government to ban hands-free phones at the wheel, in line with the evidence that they increase crash risk just as much as hand-helds – it's the distraction of the phone conversation itself that causes the danger. The rise of in-built car 'infotainment' systems presents an added source of distratction and the government needs to act to regulate them.


Brake say that there also needs to a much higher penalty for phone use at the wheel – from the current £100 to at least £500-1,000 – so drivers take it seriously, combined with stepped-up enforcement by making traffic policing a national policing priority.

For more information on Brake, please visit their website.

The Good Garage Scheme supports the Road Safety Charity, Brake ahead of Road Safety Week in November.

Drive Less Live More

Why drive less, live more?

According to the charity, Brake, every day five people die on UK roads, and 64 more are seriously injured – causing needless devastation, trauma and suffering.

Brake witnesses this through its victim care services. The vast majority of these serious casualties, which went up by 4% last year, are down to driver error.

Brake believes road safety isn’t just about driving safely and legally or using the green cross code, although these are important. It’s about making our streets safe and pleasant for everyone to use freely, and doing everything we can to protect ourselves and people around us.
A big part of that is driving less, as little as possible, or not at all if you can.

It’s common for people to habitually walk the few metres from their front door to their car and drive, even if they’re only going round the corner. A quarter of car journeys (23%) are less than two miles. People who walk or cycle often have to face busy, noisy streets, full of pollution and fast traffic. Is this the way we want it?

Walking, cycling or using public transport not only helps to make our streets safer, more pleasant and less polluted, it has personal benefits too. It can save families a lot of money, help people live healthier, more active lives, reduce stress and illness, and help people connect with their communities.

That’s why Brake is asking everyone to consider how they use roads, and to see if they can drive less, live more, and walk, cycle or use public transport instead, to help make our roads and communities safer, happier, healthier and less polluted places.

The Good Garage Scheme supports the charity, Brake, in their efforts to help create a world that has zero road deaths and injuries, and where people can get around in ways that are safe, sustainable, healthy and enjoyable.

For more information about Brake visit their website.

Hands-free Calls at the Wheel on the Rise

Brake, the road safety charity is renewing its call to ban hands-free kits, as its recent survey reveals that almost half (45%) of drivers admit to chatting when driving. While the use of hand-held phones by drivers has dropped, hands-free use has risen, likely to be linked to the mistaken belief that it is a safe alternative.

While the number of motorists who admit to talking on a hand-held phone when driving has dropped, hands-free use has risen by 16% in the last eight years.

Brake believes that the lack of a total ban has left many drivers unaware that using a mobile hands-free at the wheel is just as risky as using one hand-held.


It is the distraction of the conversation that causes the danger. Studies have shown the risk of being in a crash that causes injury is increased four times for drivers on both hand-held and hands-free phones with reactions 30% slower than driving at the UK drink drive limit, and 50% slower than under normal conditions.

Brake and Direct Line's survey also found that texting at the wheel is a widespread menace, with 30% of all drivers admitting sending or reading messages while driving, and an even higher proportion of young drivers (age 18-24) doing so.

Brake's advice to motorists:

Using a phone and driving is a deadly combination and no call or message is ever worth a life. Drivers should put phones out of sight, earshot and reach when driving to avoid temptation, ideally in the boot. On long journeys, take regular breaks and use these to check messages or make calls.
Hands-free is a not a safe option; it's just as dangerous as using a mobile hand-held because of the mental distraction of the call.
Everyone can make a difference by refusing to speak to someone on the phone who's driving; politely but quickly end the call if they're at the wheel – it could save their life.

Follow Brake on Twitter:  @BrakeCharity

The Good Garage Scheme would like to thank the road safety charity, Brake, for its contribution to this week's blog. For more information about the work that Brake do and further results of the survey related to this article, please click here.