NPCC Vulnerable Road User/ Commercial Vehicle Engagement – September 2023
Posted on Friday 22nd September 2023 in Business, Cyclists, Drivers, Education and Training, Pedestrians, Speed
Officers from the Casualty Reduction Team at Sussex Safer Roads Partnership (SSRP) worked in partnership with Sussex and Surrey’s Commercial Vehicle Unit to provide a morning of enforcement and education. The engagement was held on the A259, Brighton Road – on Friday 22nd of September, between 08:00-12:00.
The 2023 NPCC: Vulnerable Road Users (VRU) Campaign took place from 11th – 24th September 2023. The purpose of this campaign was to reinforce key messaging in relation to the hierarchy of road users and increasing awareness. Commercial vehicle drivers have an obligation to be careful of the safety of other road users. Recent changes to the Highway Code created a hierarchy of road users, with those who could do the most harm bearing the greatest responsibility for road safety. That means commercial vehicle drivers have specific personal responsibility for ensuring the safety of those more vulnerable than themselves.
Many different types of large vehicles, including skip lorries, dumper trucks, box vans, concrete mixer trucks, articulated HGVs and so on, share the road with pedestrians, pedal cyclists and motorcyclists. When collisions between large vehicles and these vulnerable road users occur, they often result in serious or fatal injury. To find out more we recommend reading RoSPA’s HGVs and Vulnerable Road Users Paper.
Multiple motoring offences were detected by police during an operation to raise awareness of vulnerable road users.
In just a few hours, the team detected:
1 x Arrest for Sec 5a and 4 of the Road Traffic Act (RTA) – drug driving
4 Traffic Offence Reports (TOR) for no seatbelt
1 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) for tinted windows
1 DVSA referral for no operator licence
1 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) for insecure load
1 Words of Advice (WOA) for insecure load
2 Traffic Offence Reports (TOR) for insecure load
1 Words of Advice (WOA) for vision obscured
3 Words of Advice (WOA) for excess speed
Measures you can take whilst driving to help protect VRUs include:
– Keep checking for cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists who may weave through stationary traffic
– Look out for cyclists, especially when checking your mirrors before indicating, varying your speed or changing direction
– The majority of collisions involving a bike happen at a junction, with the most common reason being drivers ‘failing to look properly’. Keep scanning your mirrors when approaching junctions in case a cyclist enters your blind spot
– Before pulling away from junctions, look over the dashboard (even if you have Class V / VI mirrors fitted) and try to make eye contact with any cyclists around your vehicle so they know you’ve seen them
– Indicate in good time to allow others to react
– Check your nearside blind spot every time you turn left
– Use your indicators when turning or changing lanes, even if you don’t think anyone is near you
– Give cyclists plenty of space so that they can manoeuvre to avoid potholes, drain covers or car doors
– When overtaking, give cyclists and motorcyclists at least as much space as you would a car
– Do not cross stop lines or encroach on Advanced Stop Lines at traffic lights
– Do not drive or park in a cycle lane marked by a solid white line while it is operational, or drive or park in one marked by a broken white line unless it is unavoidable
Remember: we are all vulnerable road users at times, as are our loved ones. Whatever vehicle we drive, we are also pedestrians, or cyclists at other times. When you pass a vulnerable road user, remember: that could be you.
Our album of images taken during SSRPs Vulnerable Road Users engagement, on the A259, with the support of Sussex and Surrey Police’s Commercial Vehicle Unit is available here on our website over in our gallery!
Check it out👇
