Road Safety Partnership seeks safer streets for Leicester

Local bus operators Arriva and First, have joined forces with Leicester City Council, Leicestershire Police and the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Road Safety Partnership to help encourage local pedestrians to stay alert and aware when crossing the city’s roads.

The campaign, which is set to run throughout September, is being launched following a year which included 11 pedestrian collisions and two fatalities involving buses working city-wide.

To help reduce such preventable occurrences in future, the partnership will seek to raise awareness about the dangers pedestrians face from buses and other vehicles when they become distracted by elements such as mobile phone usage, or listening to music on headphones.

Jonathan Clarkson, Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Road Safety Partnership spokesperson explained, “During 2019 we have seen far too many pedestrians killed or seriously injured in Leicester, our advice would be for people to make sure they concentrate fully when they preparing to cross the road. It’s really a case of going back to the Green Cross Code and doing the basic things like looking and listening before they cross."

Andrew Bambridge, Risk Manager from Arriva UK Bus, added: “We have a responsibility to not just keep our customers safe, but to always have the best interests of other road users and pedestrians at heart. Each of our drivers is highly trained to ensure they enact their duties in the safest possible manner, but given the manoeuvrability and weight of a bus, there is only so much they can do when danger presents itself. The actions of people moving around our vehicles can have a huge bearing on our ability to maintain everyone’s wellbeing, which is why this campaign is so important. If we can encourage more people to act carefully and responsibly we will be able to empower them to better protect both themselves and the lives of others.”

The campaign will see the introduction of better internal and external messaging on both Arriva and First buses, as well as signage on all bus shelters and at both bus stations in the centre of Leicester. It will be supported by a targeted social media push, along with an event on Tuesday 3rd September around Haymarket and St Margaret’s, where people will be able to gain hints and tips about personal safety on the roads.

For more information, follow: #DontPlayGamesWithYourLife and #DontLetThatSongBeYourLast on Twitter and Facebook.