get on the pace or get off the roads

[Richard C]

see Fleet News

Meredydd Hughes said:

, chief constable of South Yorkshire Police, the new head of ACPO says access to roads should be rationed according to ability. Speaking at an Institute of Advanced Motorists in London last week, he warned: ‘This really is not the time for people who can’t cope with today’s roads. ‘Driving is a privilege which you earn, not a right, by continuing to observe the laws our democracy puts in place. If you can’t do that, then you should not be able to drive, whoever you are.’ Hughes insisted that this tough stance will apply across the board, with police drivers leading by example, following recent high-profile reports that deaths of members of the public involving police cars rose one-fifth last year to 44. Outlining his vision for the future, Hughes said it would be defined by a culture of personal responsibility, with a focus on continuous improvement and encouragement of pride in good driving, not just the car. Although technology such as speed cameras and even speed limiters will play a greater role in helping police make the most of their stretched resources, he said cultural change was the only really effective way to make a permanent difference. Hughes added: ‘Technology designed to adapt driver behaviour is subordinate to the need to improve driver behaviour itself. Driving skill is important, whether through ability alone or through encouragement, education, re-education and retraining where necessary.’ He added: ‘Modern cars contain a lot of distractions and are much more sophisticated. The road environment is much more challenging, so we can not have yesterday’s skills for tomorrow’s roads.’ This includes the launch of a new Road Safety Bill, which could see more drivers banned for speeding offences, a new Corporate Manslaughter Bill, designed to make companies more responsible for their actions and changes to the Reporting of Injuries, Deaths and Dangerous Occurrences regulations to include incidents involving company transport.

Some pretty confused thinking behind this - It must be a difficult tightrope to walk trying to balance the professional instinct to control and enforce bad bad laws with the knowledge that skill personal resonsibility are the real areas for improvement.

[Mr Whippy]

Fleet News

Meredydd Hughes said:

and changes to the Reporting of Injuries, Deaths and Dangerous Occurrences regulations to include incidents involving company transport.

[/quote]

So even if the new Bill fails to improve safety, the new recording methods will make it possible to have statistics appear that the new road safety bill has worked!

Genius

Dave