East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow MP, Dr Lisa Cameron is supporting a campaign highlighting the importance of being seen at night in order to increase road safety.
The Child Brain Injury Trust (CBIT) has identified road traffic collisions as the leading cause of acquired brain injury (ABI) in the children they support across the UK in the last 12 months, making up 20 per cent of all referrals throughout the country.
Eighteen and a half per cent of children in Scotland referred to the charity in the last year are receiving support for an acquired brain injury that has occurred as a result of a road traffic collision.
Of the charity’s referral figures, falls were second at 16 per cent of referrals and tumours third, at 14 per cent.
These figures, released by the charity during its flagship awareness raising week, GloWeek, have led to them renewing calls for increased road safety and vigilance from vulnerable road users, including pedestrians and cyclists, particularly during the winter months.
And Ms Cameron, added her support to the campaign by speaking with some of the charity’s staff and supporters during the drop in, including its chief executive, one of its acquired brain injury coordinators and the parent of a child the charity is supporting.
She said “I was keen to support this important campaign at Westminster, ensuring our children learn about road safety to protect them from harm.
"Childhood acquired brain injury shows significant incidence and across party, we must take all action possible to prevent road traffic accidents affecting children’s lives in our communities."
CBIT experiences their highest number of referrals as a result of road traffic collision during winter, with 27 per cent of road traffic collision referrals in the last five years occurring between October and December.
The charity’s GloWeek campaign highlights the importance of being seen at night in order to increase road safety.
Timed to coincide with the clocks going back and their road traffic collision referral rates going up, the campaign aims to reduce the number of road traffic collisions sustained by children by asking those most vulnerable on the roads to don brightly coloured clothing during trips out, increasing their visibility to other road users.
Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
And did yo u know Lanarkshire Live is on Facebook? Head over to our page to give us a like and share.
