The theme for this year is avoiding driver distractions as Chris Chidley, chief executive of the recruitment agency for the road transport and logistics industry, explained: ‘Whilst driving is the most dangerous thing we do on a daily basis, its familiarity can make drivers become over confident. It’s easy to feel overly safe, cocooned in your vehicle. We then start to multi-task and do other things as well as driving. The most obvious is mobile phone use when there’s no hands-free set in the car.
‘This is of course illegal. But there are plenty of “legal” distractions that the honest will admit to: eating, drinking, retuning the radio, reading instructions to find your destination or looking at what the kids are doing in the back of the car. All of which increase the risk of a collision. Indeed, driver distraction is a major cause of death and serious injury on our roads.’
To support the campaign, Driver Hire is asking its 100 offices across the UK to send out Brake’s ”Tune in to road safety” posters to their customers. They’re also sending out “top tips” cards to drivers, with helpful advice on how to avoid driver distraction and stay focused when behind the wheel.
‘At Driver Hire we believe that road safety is important 365 days a year – not just during road safety week,’ added Chidley. ‘That’s why we’re putting our full support behind the campaign.’