RSA should take a more balanced approach when giving safety advice

THE RSA’s advert ‘Crashed lives’ shows the tearful father of a man killed by an articulated lorry blaming his son for his own death because he was not wearing a fluorescent jacket.

There is no legal obligation to wear luminous clothing and very few people do. However, there is a legal requirement to drive within the limits of visibility, and at night to drive within headlight range.

Everyone has the legal right and the need to walk along public roads and motorists should not be driving so fast that they cannot see them. Still, the RSA, in the new Rules of the Road, by claiming “pedestrians are extremely difficult to see”, appears to be condoning dangerous driving; it could be inferred that motorists can mow down pedestrians with impunity.

It is sound advice to wear fluorescent clothing, but it does not guarantee immunity. The RSA should be educating motorists in careful driving – not in victim-blaming.

If the RSA really wanted to lower pedestrian casualties it would be campaigning for lower speed limits, footpaths, pavements and pedestrian crossings.

Michael Job

Rossnagrena

Glengarriff

Co Cork