Chris Hanson-Abbott, honoured last year by HM The Queen with an OBE for Services to Vehicle Road Safety, is behind the recently launched SteerSafe Campaign, which looks at the wider issue of avoidable accidents.
As new 360-degree technology has been launched to solve the major problem of vehicle blind spots, Hanson-Abbott says that fleets must ensure such systems are implemented correctly.
He commented: “An operator may be tempted to hire the first available fitter to do a rush job. But Duty of Care demands fully trained experts to fit and to service safety equipment.
“A jobbing electrician parachuted in to do a rush job is a hostage to fortune. This might get a vehicle onto site in a hurry but in the witness-box it could be an unexploded bomb. No area for false economy; life-saving equipment demands a supplier with its own in-house fitting service. Be satisfied with nothing less”, he added.
“Having invested wisely and responsibly in safety systems fleet operators need to be fully confident they are correctly fitted, tested and the driver familiarised with their use,” warned Hanson-Abbott. “Cameras fitted upside down, acoustic alerters pointing inwards and sensors facing the ground are just some of the horror stories”.
“There is double jeopardy here,” he continued. “Not only are blind-spots still blind and detectors failed to detect but, worse, the driver may fall victim to a false sense of security.
“The cyclist who sneaks up on the near-side remains blind to the left-turning driver who, getting no hazard warning, concentrates attention elsewhere. The ever-lengthening list of young fatalities due to this manoeuvre speaks for itself.
“The finger should not point at the driver who is also a victim. Blame rests with the (irresponsible) operator and with the (probably untrained) cyclist who, fatally, snuck along a large vehicle’s nearside.
“The lesson is clear. Life is too short to cut corners with safety.”
