IAM Roadsmart: drivers must be more alert to protect pedestrians

UK charity IAM RoadSmart is urging drivers to be more alert as pedestrians now make up a quarter of all road deaths on the country’s roads. IAM refers to figures released by the Department for Transport (DfT) for 2016 – the most recent figures available - which revealed 448 pedestrians were killed. This is an increase of 10% over 2015 - the DfT says drivers failed to look in 42% of crashes while pedestrians did not look in 54% incidents. In addition, a fifth of drivers failed to judge the other perso
May 25, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
UK charity IAM RoadSmart is urging drivers to be more alert as pedestrians now make up a quarter of all road deaths on the country’s roads.


IAM refers to figures released by the 1837 Department for Transport (DfT) for 2016 – the most recent figures available - which revealed 448 pedestrians were killed. This is an increase of 10% over 2015 - the DfT says drivers failed to look in 42% of crashes while pedestrians did not look in 54% incidents.

In addition, a fifth of drivers failed to judge the other person’s path or speed in car collisions while 17% of pedestrians made the same mistake before a fatal or serious impact.

Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart’s director of policy and research, says while blame may not be easy to assign, drivers must adopt a special responsibility for looking for the safety of those on foot.

However, Greig also recognised that walking carelessly or hurrying is a contributing factor in pedestrian injuries and deaths.

Greig suggests: “Observing the body language of pedestrians will give drivers a clue of their intentions. For example, a pedestrian looking over their shoulder may be looking for a suitable gap to cross the road and anyone with their head buried in a smartphone or wearing headphones is at extra risk.”

Greig explains research on vision has found children of primary school age find it difficult to see or judge the speed of vehicles accurately.

“Slowing down around pedestrians and constantly scanning for clues to their intention is essential if we are to reduce the growing toll of pedestrian fatalities on our roads,” Greig adds.

Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Need for secure approach to connected vehicle technology
    January 7, 2013
    Accidental or malicious issue of false messages to connected vehicles could result in dire consequences, so secure systems of authentication and certification are likely to be necessary, write Paul Avery and Sandra Dykes. Connectivity among vehicles in urban traffic systems will provide opportunity for beneficial impacts such as congestion reduction and greater safety. However, it also creates security risks with the potential for targeted disruption. Security algorithms, protocols and procedures must take
    Read More
  • EU traffic police chiefs welcome new focus on serious injuries in road crashes
    October 1, 2013
    Europe’s senior traffic police officers gather in Manchester today for the annual conference of Tispol, the European traffic police network. A priority will be to review the techniques that will always be effective in reducing road traffic deaths and serious injuries, and also to consider new ways of dealing with familiar challenges. The theme of the conference is ‘Improving Road Safety – Solutions that work’ and the event includes presentations from the head of road safety at the European Commission an
    Read More
  • AB Dynamics platform adds cyclists and pedestrians to ADAS and AV testing
    March 27, 2018
    UK-based AB Dynamics (ABD) has released its LaunchPad platform with the intention of offering choreographed control of all mobile features involved in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicle testing. The solution, according to Jeremy Ash, the company’s commercial manager, will help create complex scenarios that potentially involve multiple pedestrians, cyclists and cars that are all synchronised and coordinated with the test vehicle. LaunchPad’s power controller runs on the comp
    Read More
  • Traffic signals turn red to stop speeding drivers
    March 15, 2012
    David Crawford is encouraged by the spread of 'soft' speed policing 
    Read More

Highlighted Content