APIL are committed to raising awareness and finding ways to avoid unnecessary harm and suffering caused to victims of accidents. #IPWeek2020 mainly concentrates on pedestrian and road safety, particularly focusing on non-drivers and children as they return to school throughout August and September.
During 2019 there was a total of 153,315 casualties of all severities caused by road traffic accidents. Serious injuries accounted for 25,975 of these, with 1,748 reported fatalities. Whilst this overall sum is 5% lower than the statistics reported for 2018, it is still a significant number which needs to be reduced.
Pedestrians are categorised as a vulnerable road user group as the casualty and fatality rate are high. In 2019, the proportion of casualties caused to pedestrians was 14%, which is an average of 21,936. Statistics show a decline in the number of casualties caused to children, with 2019 being the lowest year on record, reaching 13,584. This is a positive trend, however, by promoting awareness of how to stay safe on the roads through both our own platform and that of APIL, we hope that we can help to decrease this number as much as possible.
It is said that 90% of road traffic accidents are caused by human error, thereby being preventable. Awareness of how to stay safe, and how to drive safely, can help to save lives. This is why we are committed to promoting road safety, through our own efforts and by supporting external campaigns including #IPWeek2020.
By supporting this movement Hodgkinsons Solicitors, Skegness, can help to campaign for reforms of legislation to improve the law for victims of accidents. We strongly believe that by supporting APIL, this will highlight how to avoid needless harm and suffering in the first place.
Steve Hill, Director and Lead Personal Injury Solicitor here at Hodgkinsons, holds the Senior Litigator accreditation awarded by APIL and often represents victims of road traffic accidents. Steve sees, first hand, the devasting effects caused to victims of road traffic accidents and fights to obtain compensation for the often, life changing injuries suffered.
Throughout this week we will be publishing daily content on our social media channels about road safety which you can share with your loved ones and little ones, to help them to stay safe on the roads. To make sure you do not miss out, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
*(Statistics from gov.uk, 2020)