Sunday November 25, 2018
McGee has taken part in the UK’s biggest road safety event, Road Safety Week (19-25 November). The theme for 2018 urges drivers to be ‘Bike Smart’ to raise awareness about the safety of those on two wheels.
Analysis by Brake has found that the South East had the highest number of bike deaths and serious injuries in the UK in 2017, with an average of five bike riders killed or seriously injured every day.
McGee is backing the Bike Smart campaign which calls for drivers to be more aware of bikes by slowing down, giving more time to spot danger and react; looking properly for bikes before pulling out at junctions; leaving at least 150cm between cars and a bike when overtaking; and by doing the ‘Dutch reach’, using the opposite hand to open a car door to help avoid ‘car dooring’ incidents.
To help spread the Bike Smart message, McGee invited Isabelle Clement from Wheels for Wellbeing – a charity which supports disabled people of all ages and abilities to enjoy the benefits of cycling – to join an evening briefing with their drivers and to talk to them about a disabled cyclists’ perspective of road safety.
Ash Gami, McGee Transport Manager, said:
“Road Safety Week is always an important event in the Transport team’s calendar and Brake’s timely ‘Bike Smart’ theme makes this year no exception. Regularly reminding ourselves of the safety of those on two wheels is absolutely crucial and we will be ensuring that our drivers keep this at the forefront of their minds throughout Road Safety Week and beyond.”
Road Safety Week is the UK’s flagship event to promote safer road use, coordinated annually by the charity Brake, with support from the Department for Transport and sponsors Devitt Insurance and Ford, and involving thousands of schools, communities, and organisations across the country.