14 – 20 November is Road Safety Week. It is organised by the charity Brake to remember people affected by road death and injury, to raise funds to help Brake care for more victims, and to campaign for safe roads for everyone.

The theme this year is ‘Safe Roads for All’, the aim of which is to raise awareness of key areas of road safety the government supports, including:

• Safe roads, safe vehicles and speeds
• The new hierarchy of road users
• The importance of inclusivity to keep us all safe on the roads, no matter who we are, or how we travel

Road accidents are a leading cause of death and serious injury in the UK – figures from the Department of Transport published in September revealed that there were an estimated 1,558 road deaths in the UK in 2021. In total there were 128,209 casualties, of which 27,450 were killed or seriously injured.

Road Safety Week aims to inspire schools, organisations and communities to take action on, and increase awareness of, road safety.

Megan Owen, solicitor in our Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury team, comments:

As personal injury solicitors, we act for victims of road traffic collisions. We see first-hand the devastating impact and lasting effect that road traffic accidents have on victims and their families. Each statistic above is a life that has been impacted, some with profound consequences. Everyone’s safety on the road matters and making roads safer must be a priority for all.