Click Clack, Front ‘n’ Back. Though there are other famous public information campaigns dating from the 1970s, seatbelt laws did not come into force in the UK until 1983. Regulations for children to wear seatbelts followed in 1989 and then for seatbelts in the rear seats in 1991. It took a while for many people to wear seatbelts regularly but now it has become the accepted norm for anyone getting into a motor vehicle. Most car manufacturers install alarm systems to alert the occupants when a seatbelt is not engaged and the vehicle is in motion. In spite of the rules, there are still some people who will not willingly wear a seatbelt and there are in fact exemptions for certain people. You will still have a claim but your compensation will be reduced If you are unfortunate enough to have suffered injury in an accident whilst not wearing your seatbelt, you will probably still be able to make a claim for personal injury. The down side is that there may Continue Reading
A9 Accident Prevention: Driving With The Lights On
It’s good to see Del Amitri back on the road again for the first time in 12 years. Their set list includes the song “Driving with the brakes on” – not about a stationary vehicle but instead another complicated Justin Currie relationship scenario. Driving with the lights on is clearly a good idea at certain times of day or if conditions are poor. In this post, I’m making a more general road safety point - which is to suggest you consider driving with your lights on during the hours of daylight, at least on certain roads. Scotland’s "most dangerous" roads Scotland has few motorways and none north of Perth. At the top end of the country, trunk roads are the arterial routes. Many of these have only a single carriageway in each direction but some have sections with dual carriageway or “overtaking lanes”. Roads such as the A96, A82 and, especially, A9 (Scotland's longest trunk road), have gained a reputation for frequent accidents. Between 2006 and 2010, the A9 claimed more lives Continue Reading
12 Taxi Safety Precautions for a Happy Night Out
Late one November night in 2003, 20-year-old Stephanie Hammill was with her fiancé when they flagged down what proved to be an unlicensed cab in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. She got in first and the car sped off before her fiancé could join her. Clearly terrified of being attacked or abducted, she jumped from the moving cab and was struck and fatally injured by another car. This tragic case highlights the "deadly danger" of bogus cabs. The Scale of the Unlicensed Taxi Problem in Cities The website Taxiregister.com refers to startling statistics from London that:- about 10 women are attacked each month after taking an unlicensed minicab; and 80% of “stranger” rapes are committed by unlicensed cab drivers. Unlicensed Taxis in Moray In a rural area, it is easy to be oblivious to the dangers posed by bogus cabs. In July 2013, the Moray Council gave out a warning about unlicensed taxis operating in Buckie. In Moray, a licensed taxi can be identified by the Continue Reading
Winter driving means an increased risk of accidents: what steps should you take?
Wintry weather is persisting into March around the Moray Firth. Inevitably, in winter, there tends to be an increase in road traffic accidents. At this time of year, we are more likely to be driving in the dark and on roads affected by snow and ice. Repeated freezing and thawing also increases the number and size of potholes in the roads. What steps can you take? Equipment to carry in your vehicle The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) recommends certain basic safety equipment to keep in your vehicle at all times, so you are prepared if the weather deteriorates. This should include a towrope, de-icing equipment, a spare wheel, a torch, a first aid kit and a warm blanket. Checks on the vehicle itself In addition, you should check that your vehicle itself is properly prepared for winter conditions. Check your tyre pressure regularly and ensure that you have sufficient tyre tread as this will reduce the risk of loss of traction and skidding (as well as improving Continue Reading
Whiplash injury: one way to reduce the risks
Whiplash gets a lot of negative press. It is a type of injury where there is scope for people exaggerating their aches and pains to get more compensation or even inventing them completely. The Westminster Government is currently on a mission to weed out spurious claims. On the other hand, if you have ever suffered a whiplash injury to your neck or back, you will know it is not something to be taken lightly. The injury is very real. Whiplash can cause a considerable amount of pain and inconvenience to the injured person. Everyone knows that prevention is better than cure and here’s an idea for simple action you can take to reduce the risk of you being the victim of a whiplash injury. It all boils down to proper adjustment of the head restraints in your vehicle. How best should you position the head rests in your vehicle? It is not sufficient to have a head restraint attached to the top of your seat. You must make sure it is adjusted to be in line with the top of your Continue Reading
Child car seats: another reason to make sure it’s the right one
It’s bad enough to be involved in a road traffic accident in which someone is injured ... ... but it is even worse if that person is a young child. As a parent, you will find it difficult to come to terms with an injury to your child even if the accident was not your fault. What follows is the facts of a case from 2012 where a mother – who was driving the vehicle in which her injured child was a passenger – was not responsible for the accident at all but was still found to be partly responsible for her child’s injury. In this accident, there was a collision between two cars near Wrexham, North Wales. The driver of the other car lost control of his vehicle and it crossed to the wrong side of the road. There was nothing Louise Williams could do to avoid the crash. The driver of the other car was killed. Ms Williams’ daughter, Emma, aged three, was seriously injured. In the back of Ms Williams’ car, there were two child seats. One was a child seat fitted with a harness (for Continue Reading