When it comes to talking about road safety, the month of August is a significant month. This is because it is National Road Victim Month.
What is National Road Victim Month?
National Road Victim Month is a campaign that takes place during the month of August every year. It encourages people to remember those who have sadly died or have been seriously injured in a road traffic accident.
The month of August is important for several reasons. It is the month where more fatalities are likely to happen on the road due to more families being out and about during the summer holidays. Historically this was the month when Princess Diana died in a car crash on 31st August 1997 and the month in which Bridget Driscoll died who was the first recorded pedestrian fatality in the UK involving a car on 17th August 1896.
Why is National Road Victim Month important?
It was started by the charity RoadPeace in 1998. Brigitte Chaudhry founded the charity in 1992 after her son sadly died when a driver failed to stop at a red light.
The campaign aims to raise awareness about road safety, to promote the need for positive changes and to provide support to victims and their families.
Statistics
According to RoadPeace, on average, 5 people die in road traffic accidents every day and 80 people are seriously injured.
The Department of Transport has stated that in 2024, in Great Britian, it is estimated that 1,633 people died and 29,537 people were killed or seriously injured in reported road traffic accidents.
These alarming figures highlight the importance of National Road Victim Month, the need to make the roads safer and have a greater awareness of how people can be affected by road traffic accidents.
Progress
There has been some progress in regards to the implementation of road safety measures. One example is the introduction of the ‘hierarchy of road users’ on 29th January 2022. The Highway Code was updated to reflect the fact that pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists are most at risk of being injured in collisions and are therefore placed towards the top of the hierarchy. Cars, vans and heavy goods vehicles feature lower down in the hierarchy as they can cause the greatest harm in a collision and therefore drivers of these vehicles have a greater responsibility to take more care when driving to avoid a collision.
Additionally, many vehicles now have Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) which can contribute to the improvement of road safety as these systems have features which can identify hazards and help drivers in reducing the risk of having a collision.
Although these are positive developments, there is still work to be done.
Some people feel that road safety should be taught in schools and should be included in the national school curriculum to ensure that children are given the opportunity to learn about road safety which will hopefully result in fewer road traffic accidents involving young people.
Official Injuries Claims Service
If you have been injured in a road traffic accident that was not your fault as a driver or passenger and have sustained injuries such as whiplash or soft tissue injuries, you may be able to make a personal injury claim via The Official Injuries Claims Service. This online portal allows adults who were inside a vehicle and have been injured in a road traffic accident to make a personal injury claim themselves if the value of their injures is no more than £5,000 and the total value of their claim does not exceed £10,000.
You can find out more about the eligibility requirements and how the process works by visiting the Official Injury Claims Service website – https://www.officialinjuryclaim.org.uk/
If you have been seriously injured in a road traffic accident that was not your fault within the last three years and you feel you may have a personal injury claim that would fall outside of the Official Injuries Claims Service, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01702 443 472 to discuss the matter further.
The contents of this article are for the purpose of general awareness only. They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. The law may have changed since this article was published. Readers should not act on the basis of the information included and should take appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.