Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service responds to hundreds of road traffic collisions each year.
This page features lots of advice about how you can stay safe on the road.
Many of us use the roads every day. When something is always there, its risks and dangers can become less obvious. That's why it's so important to remember that roads are dangerous places.
Follow our helpful advice to make sure you protect yourself and your loved ones:
Wear your seatbelt - your seatbelt is a vital piece of safety equipment. Seatbelts keep everyone in the vehicle safer because they keep you in a seated position in the event of a collision. It is an offence to not wear your seatbelt, so always buckle up!
Never drink and drive - drinking seriously impairs your ability to drive. It's illegal to drink and drive in the UK, and doing so risks your life and the lives of others. Remember that you might still be over the limit the next day, so leave extra time before driving your vehicle.
Leave a gap - you should leave a gap of at least 2 seconds to the vehicle in front, in case you need to brake suddenly. Failure to leave a gap can cause you to collide with the vehicle in front.
Drive to road conditions - change your driving style to match the road conditions. Heavy rain? Spray off the road surface? Poor visibility? Slow down so you can protect yourself and others.
It's important that you keep your vehicle in good working condition. If you drive an unsafe vehicle by failing to maintain it, you're taking an avoidable risk every day.
Check your tyres regularly for tread depth and air pressure.
Keep your screen wash topped up to safeguard your ability to see the road ahead.
Check your headlights, brake lights, and indicators are working properly.
Remember that your vehicle must have a valid MOT certificate, insurance, and be appropriately taxed before you drive on UK roads.
Speeding is a major cause of road traffic collisions in Lancashire. Road speed limits exist for a reason: they protect you and other road users by reflecting the road layout and any nearby infrastructure.
But it's not enough to simply stick to the speed limit at the time. You should also change how you drive in bad weather, when there's poor visibility, or near road hazards even if this is below the speed limit.
It's illegal to exceed the speed limit. The best way to avoid a speeding ticket is to avoid speeding in the first place.
Please drive to road conditions and never exceed the speed limit.
RoadSense is a Year 6 Road Safety package which looks at the transition from primary to high school. It helps pupils to consider how they will travel to their new school safely and plan their route. It covers key messages about wearing seatbelts, safe cycling, pedestrian safety and not causing a distraction when travelling in a car.
Wasted lives is aimed at year 11 high school students. It is an award-winning young driver education programme, targeting young drivers and their passengers. The session challenges beliefs resulting in safer attitudes towards risk taking behaviours on the roads utilising hard hitting video clips and local examples of road traffic collisions.
To find out more about these packages, please visit the Wasted Lives website or contact Clare Burscough, our Road Safety Co-ordinator on 01772 862545 or by emailing ClareBurscough@lancsfirerescue.org.uk.
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