Unwanted high visibility clothing has been driven in a van across Europe to Moldova and Ukraine with the support of the CIHT Foundation, Kent County Council and its maintenance contractor Amey. The 5600km, 10 day trip saw safety kit including jackets and vests donated to a UK based charity working in those countries for the benefit of local villagers, to help improve highway safety.

Kent Highways’ roads maintenance manager Toby Howe drove the van, delivered the safety equipment and arrived back in the UK earlier this week.

Road deaths in eastern Europe are said to be three times higher than in the west. Cyclists and pedestrians share many roads with heavy lorries and vulnerable road users make up 41% of road deaths in Moldova and 55% in Ukraine. 

CIHT Past President David Gillham, a director with Amey, helped to secure support from the CIHT Foundation to pay for the van’s fuel. “This initiative promotes road safety and recycles serviceable safety equipment which is no longer needed,” he said. “It is a great example of where the CIHT Foundation can provide charitable support to the industry.”

Charity director Emma MacLennan of The Eastern Alliance for Safe & Sustainable Transport – which received the donated safety equipment – said: “Pedestrian collisions should not be accepted as being inevitable, they are preventable. One solution is high visibility clothing. The jackets delivered will greatly help villagers living along one road known to be a blackspot for road deaths to be seen by on coming traffic.”

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