A PENARTH-based innovator has scooped a prestigious national road safety award for his invention, the BriteAngle LED Warning Triangle.

Steve Wornham, founder of Road Safety Designs Ltd, had his product the BriteAngle named ‘Fleet Safety Product of the Year’ at the Brake 2019 Fleet Safety Awards.

The BriteAngle was selected by a panel of judges as the product that does the most to improve safety through innovation.

It makes motorists much more visible in the event of an unexpected stop, using flashing, high-intensity LEDs to warn drivers of hazards up to 300 metres away.

Mr Wornham said: “This is fantastic recognition for our product, which is now being distributed across the world.

"Like all significant inventions, it was borne out of personal experience and I’m proud that the fleet industry can now increase the safety of drivers and passengers alike by urging them to carry a BriteAngle LED Warning Triangle in their vehicles.”

A near-death experience driving on a dark night led to Mr Wornham inventing the BriteAngle.

On his way home from work at night, he almost hit a motorist who was crouched down in the road changing a tyre.

The person had a torch in his mouth and happened to turn his head towards Steve’s approaching vehicle, enabling him to be seen.

Road Safety Designs recently signed a contract that could be worth as much as a quarter of a million pounds a year with Australian distributor, Dometic, and launched a new road safety product specifically for motorcyclists – the BriteAngle MotoBrite.

The road safety innovation company is backed by Welsh businessman Sir Stanley Thomas OBE.

Mr Thomas said: “Fleet vehicles make up a significant proportion of road users in this country and companies pride themselves on the safety of their drivers, so to be recognised by the road safety charity in this category is a great achievement, and demonstrates the virtues of the BriteAngle LED Warning Triangle to all road users."

Senior fleet officer at Brake, Sarah Plumb, said: “Congratulations to BriteAngle for winning the fleet safety product award.

"They were commended for offering a simple but effective solution that can help to prevent potential crashes with broken down vehicles.

"This was a very competitive category this year, so a huge well done to them."