Clocks go back - whats the impact for health and safety?
November 2, 2007
The clocks may have went back but the concerns over road safety remain the same.
According to Kevin Clinton, Head of Road Safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), road accident rates increase after the clocks change in October and visibility and weather conditions deteriorate.
As the darker evenings return, RoSPA is therefore urging all road users to try to reduce the toll of deaths and injuries, which the body says is "made worse by the current way clocks are changed".
RoSPA is asking the public not only to take extra care as the nights draw in, but also to "press politicians to introduce a system which would bring lighter evenings all year round".
Mr Clinton said, "Studies have shown that 450 lives and serious injuries could be saved each year if we stayed one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time in the winter and two hours ahead in the summer. Vulnerable road users such as children and the elderly are much more at risk during dark evenings than in the morning."
RoSPA has long campaigned for the Government to agree to a three-year time trial to prove the road safety arguments, arguing that people would also be able to appreciate other benefits such as increasing the opportunity for outdoor activities, helping to promote fitness and tackling the nation's obesity problem.
In a separate statement, the Department for Transport reminded drivers of the time of day when child pedestrian road accidents are most likely to occur - between 3.30pm and 4pm.
In 2006, 18 children aged between 4 and 11 years old were killed or seriously injured each week while walking. Four children of the same age were killed or seriously injured each week while cycling.
Print this page