Visibility is the key to saving lives

The fact that 250 people are killed or seriously injured every year on the hard shoulder is a statistic that should shock and appal every motorist in the UK.

Whether these deaths and injuries are caused by motorists not standing well away from the main carriageway if their car has broken down, or drivers on the motorway not paying enough attention, or the stranded motorist ignoring advice given by all safety groups and getting out of their car on the driver’s side too close to the fast-moving traffic, the fact is that all of these incidents are avoidable.

They are avoidable if motorists make themselves much more visible to traffic. Part of the problem that allows these dreadful statistics to represent one in eight of all motorway deaths, especially in poor weather, is that drivers who have been forced to stop on the hard shoulder cannot be seen by drivers on the main carriageway.

Campaign

That is why Comma is spearheading a campaign to make it law for all motorists in Britain to carry high-visibility vests in their cars. We have set up a petition to drive this movement forward, housed at www.safeandseen.co.uk, which I hope as many people as possible will sign.

Naturally, you don’t think in terms of breakdown safety when considering the clothes you are wearing when you go out in your car, but chances are, your clothing is not bright or reflective in any way.

You may feel as though you are perfectly visible to oncoming traffic, but tests that we at Comma carried out in conjunction with Auto Express magazine demonstrated the shocking extent to which a person by the side of the road becomes almost invisible at night in dark clothing, unless they are wearing a high-vis vest. The results showed that, on average, a driver can see you four times further away if you are wearing reflective clothing. This not only gives the approaching driver more warning of your presence, but also gives you a better chance of not being hurt or killed.

What makes the situation in the UK even harder to swallow is that we are lagging behind many of our European neighbours on this front.

Laws stating that all motorists must carry high-vis vests in their cars have existed for several years already in Italy, Spain, Austria, Croatia, Belgium and Portugal. For a country in which health and safety is taken so seriously, it seems remarkable that the UK has no such legislation to protect the users of its 32 million cars.

In Spain, the law states not only that drivers must have a high-vis vest in their car, but that it must be carried in the cockpit with them – they don’t even allow motorists to get out of their cars and fetch the vest from the boot!

Here at Comma, safety is our watchword. We were very proud to win the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents’ prestigious president’s award in 2007 for our safety performance over many years. Our internal slogan – ‘No-one gets hurt at Comma’ – is etched on the minds of every one of our staff, as we strive to make sure they are safe.

Sentiment I want to extend that sentiment to all of the motorists, on whom our business depends. During the winter we have been giving away 250,000 high-vis vests with packs of our Performance Motor Oil in a promotion, but really our message is simply to obtain a highvis vest with which to protect yourself by the side of the road, even if it’s not one of the ones we are giving away.

You can pick one up in stores like Halfords, or even supermarkets, for just a couple of pounds.

Previously, high-vis vests were only seen on road workers and the emergency services. But the fact that they wear reflective gear is because it improves their safety, so why should you not do the same? The ‘SafeandSeen’ campaign is a continuation of the work we started in 2006 on brake fluid. Hardly anyone within the general motoring public knows exactly how brake fluid works or about its hygroscopic qualities, but these are crucial to whether the brake fluid in cars works effectively. We are continuing to try and raise awareness of this and make a brake fluid boiling point test a mandatory part of the MoT. This would help to eliminate accidents in which defective brake fluid is the contributory factor. In the same way, we hope our ‘SafeandSeen’ campaign will improve safety on our roads, and save lives.

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