It’s almost that time of year again… The UK’s biggest road safety event, Road Safety Week, will run from 19–25 November, and we will be encouraging everyone to shout about the safety of those on two wheels and sharing how we can all be ‘Bike Smart’.

Cyclists and motorcyclists are among the most vulnerable of all road users; in the UK, more than a third of all people killed or seriously injured on our roads were travelling by bike. However, every single one of these crashes could have been prevented with the right policies, infrastructure and behaviours in place. That’s why this Road Safety Week we are going to do something about it.

Every single one of us has a role to play in being Bike Smart. Whether you’re a policy maker deciding on the rollout of safer speed limits, a driver committing to be alert and give bike riders plenty of space, or a cyclist/motorcyclist yourself, using safe riding behaviours and with appropriate training and equipment.

Throughout Road Safety Week we will be focusing on several key topics, where evidence indicates that significant improvements can be made to protect the safety of cyclists and motorcyclists – a crucial one of these is rural road safety. A shocking two-thirds of all deaths involving a cyclist or motorcyclist take place on a rural road and the cause can often be attributed to speed. We believe that the current 60mph default limit is far too high for many of these roads and is a key factor in their increased risk – rest assured we will be making this point loud and clear.

Interestingly, the government recently acknowledged the safety concern posed by our rural roads, with the Roads Minister, Jesse Norman, announcing that rural road users would be one of four priority groups in the government’s new two-year action plan for road safety. This shows that the government is listening and, with a concerted and collaborative effort, we can build on this momentum throughout Road Safety Week to make a real change to vulnerable road user safety

For Brake, Road Safety Week is also about the road safety community coming together and promoting road safety in a spirit of collaboration. We will be working closely with motorcycling and cycling groups, as well as with the fire service, police and many others, to communicate key messages about being Bike Smart. We want as many individuals, communities and organisations to take part, so if you are interested, please register here to be part of Road Safety Week 2018 and get your free electronic action pack.

Road Safety Week 2018 provides a unique annual platform to make meaningful change to road safety. Let’s all support this year’s theme and choose to be Bike Smart to save lives – together we can make the 100 bike rider injuries that take place every day on our roads a thing of the past.

Visit www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk for more information.