Time for British motorists to follow EU visibility laws

Car care specialist, Comma, is campaigning to make carrying a high-visibility vest in the car compulsory, in an attempt to reduce the 250 people killed or seriously injured every year on the hard shoulder.

Fatalities on the hard shoulder in the UK account for 12.7% of all motorway deaths. That is more than twice the average number of fatalities under similar circumstances in several European countries where legislation means it is illegal to drive without having a high-visibility vest on board.

With UK law lagging behind that of Belgium, Spain, Austria, Portgual, Italy and Croatia, Comma has launched an online petition to make visi-vests a ‘compulsory boot item’ at safeandseen.co.uk.

Comma spokesman, Mike Bewsey, said: “Comma has always been on the side of the motorist and this seemed like an issue we could directly impact for the better. The simple precaution of carrying a visi-vest in the boot of the car can really help to save lives”.

Whereas Italy, Spain and Portugal have seen a dip in the number of pedestrian fatalities every year since 2003, the equivalent figure for the UK and France, where hi-vis vests are not mandatory, has risen.

Having already positioned itself as a champion of motorist’s safety by lobbying to make brake fluid boiling point testing a mandatory part of the MOT, Comma, is kicking off its ‘safe and seen’ campaign by giving away 250,000 fluorescent visi-vests for free, with 5-litre packs of its Performance Motor Oil during September and October.

Most of the visi-vests will make their way to the motorist through the UK’s network of independent garages that use Comma product, but those changing their own oil will also find visi-vests attached to 5ltr packs stocked at many of the distributors across the UK.

Nearest stockists can be found at commaoil.com - click Where to Buy.