Surrey road safety campaign urges drivers to keep an eye out for cyclists

A road safety campaign operated jointly by Surrey Police and Surrey County Council is urging all road users to try and be more considerate of others in a bid to reduce the number of accidents involving cyclists on the county’s roads.

The Drive SMART campaign says that 14 per cent of accidents involving injury to cyclists take place in June as more take to the roads, encouraged by warmer weather, reports Elmbridge Today.

Nearly one in five accidents take place during the morning rush hour between 7am and 9am and are most likely to happen within 1km of the rider’s home and in urban areas subject to 30mph speed limits.

The statistics were compiled following an analysis of accident data for the county between 2004 and 2008.

Dr Andrew Povey, leader of Surrey County Coucil, commented: “It’s likely June is the most dangerous month for cyclists because the warmer weather encourages more people to get on their bikes.

“Through our Drive SMART campaign we’re trying to persuade all road users to abandon their selfish behaviour and give more thought to each other.

“I would urge motorists to give cyclists enough time and space and I would ask those people riding a bike to make sure they obey the rules of the road.”

Inspector Chris Colley said that cyclists needed to make sure they were aware of the Highway Code, but said they should also take other measures, none of them legal requirements, to ensure they remained safe while riding on the road.

Those include “being visible to other road users and pedestrians, wearing a helmet and using cycle lanes and advanced stop areas for cycles at traffic lights.”

The Drive Smart campaign “aims to tackle anti-social driving in Surrey to reduce road casualties and make the county's roads safer and less stressful for everyone.”