IRHA SUPPORTS BIKE SAFETY WEEK
16th of June 2015
The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) has lent its full support to the road safety efforts during’ Bike Safety Week’ to highlight the need for awareness among all road users on the public road network.
The IRHA has been involved in road safety initiatives for many years to highlight the ‘blind spot’ on a HGV that can create difficulties for a professional HGV driver when operating in an urban environment. It was as a direct result of representations made by the IRHA over many years that the ‘blind spot mirror’ was introduced as a mandatory element of the vehicles annual roadworthiness test.
Speaking on the subject matter president of the IRHA Ms Verona Murphy stated ‘I am proud that a campaign that the IRHA has been spearheading for so long is now attracting the attention and support that it deserves. For many years, the IRHA was the lone voice in highlighting the dangers of the blind spot on trucks when in an urban environment and it is a positive step that it has now become part of ‘Bike Safety Week’.
Ms Murphy continued “The IRHA has produced two road safety DVDs that highlight the blind spot around a HGV. At the time of launch, we sent a copy of our cyclist safety DVD to every school in the country. Our road safety DVDs are available on the homepage of our website and still garner a high volume of views on an on-going basis.”
The Irish Road Haulage Association is also involved in an on-going road safety campaign with An Garda Siochana to highlight the dangers of the blind spot on the HGV in an urban environment. The ‘HGV Awareness Days’ involve the IRHA parking a vehicle in a busy shopping area, supported by members of the Gardaí, where a member of the public can sit into the vehicle cab and see exactly what the sight limitations are from the professional drivers perspective. The Association has received a very positive response to this educational initiative and is delighted to participate on an on-going basis with An Garda Siochana on this important matter.
ENDS
For further comment please contact: IRHA President Verona Murphy 087 253 2720.
IRHA Cyclist Safety Video: http://irha.ie/enews/video/video2.html