To coincide with Road Safety Week, Wokingham Borough Council is launching their ‘Be Bright Be Seen’ campaign, encouraging residents to continue to look out for each other while travelling around the borough as the evenings continue to draw in.
Throughout the current crisis, our communities have continued to support one another in many different ways. With more pedestrians and cyclists taking to the streets, whether it be because it’s a more environmentally friendly way to travel or because people are choosing to walk or cycle as part of their daily exercise during lockdown, it is important to ensure we continue to look out for each other and do what we can to keep ourselves and others safe.
The council is asking pedestrians and cyclists to support their campaign by avoiding wearing dark clothing when out and about so it is easier for drivers to see them from further away.
They are also supporting Road Safety Week, reaching out to drivers and asking them to watch their speed as part of this year’s national ‘No Need to Speed’ campaign. According to safety charity Brake, someone is injured on a UK road every four minutes and speed contributes to one in five fatal crashes.
Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, executive member for highways said, “As we all travel around the borough we need to look out for each other. Wearing brighter, reflective clothing when out walking and cycling and ensuring you have front and rear lights on your bikes makes you more visible to drivers and helps keep you safe. When you are driving around the borough it is also really important that you adhere to the speed limits and avoid travelling too fast for the conditions of the road.
“We all need to play our part. The safety of our residents is our main priority which is why we continue to update and maintain our roads so that they're safe for you to use all year round. This is why our vital highways work continues during lockdown under government guidelines.”
To help children to understand the importance of being bright and being seen, the council’s My Journey Team have been working with schools across the borough and are running a competition for children to design a reflective clip on keyring. The winning design will be made into a reflective clip on keyring, not only for the winner but for their whole school. For further information visit cutt.ly/Wg8gxyU
To find out more about how we continue to maintain our road network and to keep up to speed with the latest roadworks across the borough sign up to our Traffic and Travel newsletter at cutt.ly/Tg8hUsa and follow our Traffic and Travel pages on Facebook and Twitter.
