Road Safety Week: After the crash, every victim counts

Road Safety week takes place from 17 to 23 November 2024. This is a national campaign run by Brake during which victims of road crashes are remembered. Brake is a charity which campaigns for safe streets and the rights of road victims; their vision is a world with zero road deaths and injuries.

What is Road Safety Week?

Road Safety Week is Brake's biggest road safety campaign, where thousands get involved to share important road safety messages, remember people affected by road death and injury, and raise funds to help Brake care for more road victims and campaign for safe roads for everyone.

Every year the campaign has a different theme. This year’s theme focuses on the victims of road traffic collisions, aiming to raise awareness of the aftermath and toll that an accident can take on the victim and their families.

This campaign raises awareness and highlights the horrific statistics of road accidents, which have not significantly decreased within the past 10 years. More than 1,700 people die on UK roads yearly and 30,000 experience serious and life changing injuries. We are here to support those affected by bereavement or injuries sustained due to a road accident.

Pedestrians

Pedestrians are considered the most vulnerable group of road users, as they are people who are on foot rather than travelling in a vehicle.

In 2023, 19,235 pedestrian injuries were reported due to road traffic accidents; 405 pedestrians were killed, and another 6,067 were reported to be seriously injured. The Department for Transport’s report on road casualties in 2023 show a 5% increase in pedestrian fatalities.

The 3 most common contributory factors assigned to vehicles involved in collisions with pedestrians, were, ‘failed to look properly’ followed by ‘driver or rider careless, reckless or in a hurry’ and ‘failure to judge other person’s path or speed’.

Our expert personal injury team understands how challenging recovery from an accident can be, and how even thinking about making a claim can be overwhelming. However, we are here to support you and guide you, making the process as smooth and easy as we possibly can.

Cyclists

In 2023, 87 pedal cyclists were killed in Great Britain, and 3,942 cyclists were reported as being seriously injured, with 10,970 being slightly injured. Between 2019 and 2023, most pedal cycle fatalities occurred in 2 vehicle collisions involving a car.

The implications from having a cycling accident caused by someone else can range from cuts and bruises, to serious head and/or neck injuries, spinal injuries, loss of consciousness and in the most severe cases, loss of life. Cycling accidents can often be traumatic, and may not only leave physical injuries but psychological scars too.

The psychological damage from an accident can be just as significant and equally as debilitating as the physical injuries. We will account for both when considering a claim.

Common cycling injuries that often result in a claim are cuts, scrapes and bruises, damage to muscles, tendons and ligaments, fractures and broken bones, concussion and traumatic brain injuries and neck, back and spinal injuries (including potentially life-changing injuries). Our exceptional personal injury team has knowledge and experience in a vast range of road traffic accident claims involving cyclists, and will support you through your recovery and the claim process.

Motorcyclists

Motorcycles make up around 1% of road traffic, but account for approximately 20% of road fatalities and about 12% of road causalities in the UK.  Last year, more than 17,000 bikers were injured and 5,000 were serious. Per week, this is an average of 102 being seriously injured, and 6 being killed.

Accidents involving motorcycles are most commonly caused by another road user, inadequate road conditions and are sometimes due to equipment failure. If any of these apply to you or a loved one, you could make a motorcycle accident claim. Even where a loved one has been lost or has sustained a life-changing injury, a claim can be made on their behalf.

At Thompson Smith and Puxon, we understand that you’ll likely be going through an increasingly tough time that you’ve likely never dealt with before. This is why we treat each client with the care and compassion they deserve whilst guiding them through their claim as efficiently and considerately as possible. We are here for you whenever you are ready to explore the possibility of a claim, so please contact us to get the expert advice you need to decide your next steps.

Hit and run & uninsured motorists

Even though it is required by law to have motor vehicles in use insured, unfortunately not everyone does insure their vehicle. Thus, an accident can happen where you are hit by an uninsured driver, or you could be the victim of a hit a run (where the driver who caused the injuries fails to stop).

The Motor Insurers’ Bureau was created in response to these occurrences and ensures that those affected are still able to claim compensation. Therefore, if you have no way of claiming against the motorist responsible, you could still claim through the Bureau.

Our highly experienced personal injury team can assist in complying with the Bureau’s requests and application processes, again making it as straightforward and stress free as possible for you.

How we can help

The first step after any accident should always be to seek medical help and get the injuries treated. You should also consider getting advice from a personal injury solicitor. They can evaluate what happened, give an honest opinion on your chances of success and advise whether you have a claim.

If it is decided that you do have a case, your solicitor will be able to guide and assist you through the claims process and help you receive proper compensation. They can help you collect the evidence needed to make a claim and represent you through the legal process on a 'no win, no fee' basis, meaning that there is no financial risk in making a claim.

At Thompson Smith and Puxon, Hasina Choudhury and Steve Webb have the knowledge and expertise required to competently handle a wide variety of road traffic accident claims. You can learn more about our services by visiting our Personal Injury page here.

If you or someone you care about would like some advice, please call our experts today on 01206 574431 or email enquiries@tsplegal.com. You can also get in touch via our website.