WATCH: Cyclist hit by truck, saved by mattress

The video comes at the same time as Brake, the road safety charity, begins issuing an appeal to employers to play their part in preventing devastating casualties among pedestrians and cyclists.

Newly-released government figures show 6 people are killed and 157 seriously injured every week while walking or cycling. At least 24% of road deaths and serious injuries involve a vehicle being driven for work.

A Brake and Licence Bureau report out today (15 Oct) finds that among companies with staff who drive for work, many don’t have good practice procedures to protect people on foot and bike:

• More than half (54%) don’t provide driver education on protecting pedestrians and cyclists;
• Two-thirds (68%) don’t instruct drivers to slow down to 20mph around schools, homes and shops;
• Six in 10 (61%) don’t instruct drivers on looking twice and checking mirrors at junctions for cyclists or motorcyclists;
• Nine in 10 (89%) don’t plan routes to avoid schools and residential areas;
• Eight in 10 (80%) don’t use blind spot sensors and seven in 10 (70%) don’t use blind spot cameras on large commercial vehicles;
• Almost half (45%) don’t use telematics to monitor driver speed, so have no way of knowing if drivers are routinely endangering others by driving too fast.

The survey included 228 companies operating commercial vehicles, company cars or vans, or with employees who drive their own vehicles to business appointments.