Report From Volvo Trucks Highlights the Importance of Education for All Road-users Not Just Trucks
While heavy vehicles are involved in a disproportionately high number of crashes, these crashes aren’t always caused by the heavy vehicle, which is why Volvo Trucks says more education needs to be provided for other unprotected road-users, particularly pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists.
According to a Volvo Trucks report released in May this year, there is still much that needs to be done to address heavy vehicle road safety.
The report examined data from more than 1700 accidents involving trucks, kicking off in 1969. The data collected from Europe and accidents around the EU, showed that 15 per cent of road crashes involved heavy vehicles.
Of the 26,000 road fatalities that occur each year, a large number of fatalities were vulnerable road users and 53 per cent of the vulnerable road user deaths were pedestrians.
Pedestrians and cyclists need more road safety education and in particular the distraction of smartphones should be addressed, Volvo Trucks traffic & product safety director Carl Johan Almqvist believes.
Read more of what he had to say in an interview with ATN at the Brisbane Truck Show –