Think road safety
When National Distribution Centre (NDC) traffic officer control room manager, Ian Beauchamp noticed a spike in road traffic incidents, he decided to do something about it.
As part of last week’s Road Safety Week activity, Ian, together with distribution manager, James Parker, and Logistics management trainee, Harley Stansfield organised a safety day, inviting along local police and community support officers as well as the Highways Agency.
‘We wanted to remind our drivers of their professional responsibility, and how they should be setting the standards for Royal Mail on the road,’ said Ian. ‘We’d noticed an increase in small incidents, mainly around the yard, which made us think that it was a good time to engage people and raise awareness.’
Police officers spoke at length about the four biggest dangers British drivers face on our roads. Known as the ‘the fatal four,’ they include: speeding; hand-held mobile phone use; not wearing seatbelts; and driving under the influence of drink and/or drugs.
Although annual traffic accident fatality figures are now less than a quarter of their total in the mid-1960s, there are still more than 1,700 reported road deaths in the UK every year, and the World Health Organization lists traffic accidents as the tenth highest cause of death worldwide.
The Highways Agency spoke to colleagues on the implementation of smart motorways, and what they mean for drivers. Last month, Highways England revealed that an additional 300 miles of smart motorway will be rolled out across England by 2025, so it's vital that our drivers get to grips with how to use them.
