'Be seen to be safe' - Your Letters: February 14
BE SEEN TO BE SAFE ON ROADS
"I see you!" was the shout when playing hide and seek, followed by the rush to home-base to arrive before the child who had been hiding. Touch base first and the reward was to be the seeker in the next round. The loser had to hide.
When using our roads the winner always needs to be seen, to be safe. There are times when you can't be seen until a driver or rider is on top of a victim - or worse - in contact with one. The results vary from loss of pride/confidence, to death of the victim and damage to the transport. Death cannot be reversed. Its effects on a family and their friends are profound and rarely ending. If it is a less damaging contact, it can still be life-changing, or a cost to the pocket, while earnings are stopped and claims for damages settled, both damage to the injured and to the transport.
The fault is felt by everyone but it may not always be put at the door of a bad driver or rider, but at the fault of not being seen.
We've had some very testing weather. You may be able to see, but can you be seen? Is your transport clean? Often in rural areas it is far from clean, except I hope for the number plates as required by law, but are your lights clean and are they on?
