Tag: Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents

RoSPA: Control your speed to save lives this season

Slow your speed to save lives, that’s the message from The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) as we enter a period of wintry weather.

Caitlin Taylor, Road Safety Manager for RoSPA said: “The UK will is entering a time of wintry weather leading to travel disruption, which can pose unique risks to drivers and pedestrians – these risks are increased if someone is speeding.

“Higher speeds mean that drivers have less time to identify and react to what is happening around them, and it takes longer for the vehicle to stop, removes the driver’s safety margin and turns near misses into collisions.

“Driving at 30mph, vehicles are travelling at around three car lengths a second – one blink and the driver may fail to see the early warning brake lights; a short glance away and the movement of a child behind a parked car will be missed.

“With that in mind, and the poor visibility this season poses, it’s clear to see the tragic consequences speeding could have”.

RoSPA advises the following when driving in darker periods of the day:

Be prepared: As the wintry weather sets in, it is crucial for motorists to adjust their driving habits. The decreased visibility during early mornings and evenings demands heightened caution. RoSPA urges drivers to use dipped headlights, and ensure clean windshields, to be extra cautious when navigating poorly lit roads.

Control your Speed: Poor driving conditions and darkness increase the risks associated with speeding. The lack of visibility, compounded by higher speeds, can lead to devastating accidents. The Department for Transport (DfT) reports that in 2023, exceeding the speed limit was deemed a contributory factor related for 21% of all fatal collisions. In 8% of fatal collisions, driving too fast for the conditions was deemed a contributory factor. 1.

RoSPA emphasises that adhering to speed limits and driving to the conditions is paramount, especially when visibility is reduced, or weather conditions are poor.

Caitlin Taylor continues: “If you must travel during poor weather, I suggest leaving ample time for the journey, ensuring you can travel within the speed limit, and try to maintain a safe distance behind other road users.

“As we age, our ability to adapt to changing light reduces, which impacts how we see colours and contrasts in low-light conditions. It also takes longer for the eyes to recover from glare”

RoSPA launches groundbreaking ‘Falls Charity Appeal’ 

Fall prevention has been identified as the number one priority by the leading health and safety charity the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). And RoSPA is now calling on businesses, business leaders and the health and safety community to use the skills they have developed in fall prevention in workplaces, to educate their employees to help prevent falls in the home.

Shockingly, annual deaths due to falls, including falls on stairs, have nearly doubled in England from 3,667 deaths in 1990 to 7,274 in 2019. Falls cause untold misery and pain to thousands of people every year, from physical injuries and death, long-term health effects and disabilities, loss of mobility, loneliness, social isolation and loss of independence

. They also impact massively on society, costing the NHS and wider healthcare systems over £4billion every year. But RoSPA believes businesses and organisations can mobilise their people to help drive these numbers down.

The Falls Charity Appeal has two major aims. Firstly, RoSPA is urging organisations to deliver the charity’s free, twenty-minute Fall Fighter awareness sessions to their staff. These online sessions have been specifically designed to equip people with the knowledge and skills to recognise the potential risks and how to stop falls from happening.

Additionally, the sessions provide people with a better understanding of how to help limit the harm from a fall.

Secondly, RoSPA is asking for donations to be made to its appeal, which will fund the delivery of strength and balance programmes for people in later life, to enable them to lead active, independent lives for longer. Falls are the largest cause of accidental death among over-65s in the UK and these programmes have been shown to reduce the rate of falls by up to 30 per cent.

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Errol Taylor, RoSPA’s Chief Executive, said: “At RoSPA we know that businesses are experts in preventing falls in workplaces, but we want to translate these skills to tackle falls that are happening in homes, which are a forgotten killer.

“We believe that if every employee was made aware how falls can be prevented we could, together, achieve a huge reduction in the numbers of those killed and injured. This is why we have developed our innovative free Fall Fighter resource.

“By rolling-out our online sessions, businesses will be taking a leading role in addressing one of the biggest health and safety issues we face.

“There is so much that we can all do to stop falls from happening. A free Fall Fighter awareness session takes just twenty minutes to complete but could change the lives of loved ones forever.

“But we’re not stopping there, we want to deliver a programme of strength and balance programmes that will mean more people in later life can lead active, independent lives for longer. These programmes have been shown to reduce the rate of falls by a massive 30 per cent. And by making a donation we can start this incredibly important work.

“By joining together, we can be a powerful and positive force for good. I therefore encourage all businesses and organisations, no matter their size, to adopt and roll-out our Fall Fighter training and donate to our appeal – together we have the potential to save lives.”

In support of the Fall Fighter scheme, early adopter Sarah Riesner, Business Lead – Strategy, Risk & Governance, Severn and Trent, said: “We’re proud to adopt this free scheme, and encourage our 7,500 employees to become RoSPA Fall Fighters.”

And Barry Oliver, Group Executive for Health & Safety, from national house builder Berkeley Group, added: “The Fall Fighter scheme fits well with our strategic focus. Adding it to our own Learning Management System makes the roll-out simple.”

For more information on how you can take part, visit: www.rospa.com/falls-appeal

Avoid deer in the headlights on winter nights

Forestry and Land Scotland joins with Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) to give tips on night time driving

At this time of year and as more people will be driving in the dark, Forestry and Land Scotland is urging drivers to be extra alert to wild deer on the roads.

Wild deer numbers in Scotland have reached record levels at 1 million – double the amount recorded in 1990 – and the consequent danger of deer-related road traffic accidents is predicted to rise. Forestry and Land Scotland previously released the figure of almost 2,000 reported deer-related accidents a year, though figures are believed to be nearer 8,000-14,000.

Collisions with large animals such as deer can be catastrophic, but there are some simple guidelines that can increase chances of avoiding a shocking accident. FLS has joined with RoSPA to offer guidance for night time driving when there could be deer on the road:

Dr Karen McDonnell, Head of RoSPA Scotland said: “When driving on country roads you have to try to anticipate the unexpected.

“Single track lanes, blind corners, and even the possibility of animals crossing can make driving challenging even for the most experienced drivers. To minimise your chances of a collision with a large animal, such as a deer, follow some straightforward steps.”

RoSPA’s tips:

Watch your speed on rural roads
Be aware of warning road signs
Be vigilant in areas where you have seen deer during daylight
If you see a deer, slow down to pass it and keep an eye out for more
Be ready to brake if a deer appears on the road
Use indicators to warn other drivers if you are passing deer or slowing down

Ian Fergusson, Head of Wildlife Management for FLS said: ”As Scotland’s deer numbers rise and expand their range, it’s really important that those driving on rural roads at night are extra vigilant.

“We are aware that deer accidents are more likely to happen on rural roads adjacent to forests and other wild habitats but they are becoming more common on major roads around towns and cities.

“As we enter the Christmas season, we’ve pulled together advice for motorists. Hitting a large animal is distressing at best and apart from damage to vehicles and potential injury to drivers and passengers, no-one wants to leave a wild animal hurt and in enduring pain.”

To help protect Scotland’s national forests and land from the negative impacts of deer, Forestry and Land Scotland employs a number of techniques, including deer culling and fencing, where appropriate, to keep numbers down to a sustainable level.

This helps to keep herds healthy, mitigates against habitat loss and helps reduce deer/vehicle collisions.

Most recorded road accidents involving deer occur in the Highland, Aberdeenshire, Central Belt, and Fife regions, but areas in west central Scotland, including North and South Lanarkshire have also seen significant increasesForestry and Land Scotland Deer Accidents.jpg in the last decade.