UK road safety policy wrong says campaign
Safe Speed calls for government heads to roll
Official figures released this week show that road deaths in Germany fell by 12 per cent in a single year. In the UK, road deaths have only fallen by eight per cent in the last 10 years. Road safety campaign Safe Speed said it blamed road safety policy failure for the UK's awful performance and demanded the resignation of the Transport Secretary.
Safe Speed said it had invested more than 8,000 man-hours investigating modern road safety policy and found it dangerously lacking.
Safe Speed founder Paul Smith said, "Roads, vehicles and post crash medical care are known to be improving at an excellent rate. The growth in traffic is small by comparison and we are entitled to see road deaths falling. After extensive investigation I am absolutely certain that policy is to blame for failing to save lives on the road. Modern policy is based on nothing more than a few key oversimplified assumptions. UK road deaths should be down to around 2,200 per annum by now - and they would be if we hadn't got policy wrong."
Demanding the resignation of the Secretary of State for Transport Alistair Darling, Smith said, "Well over 5,000 people have died in the last ten years on our roads who would not have died if the former beneficial trends had been allowed to continue. 'Speed kills' road safety policy backed with speed cameras and speed limit reductions have been a complete disaster supported only by spin, false statistics and inadequate thinking. Alistair Darling must take responsibility, admit the mistakes and resign. Improvement will not start until the failure is admitted."
Smith said that there wasn't even an official excuse for the loss of trend. One third of road deaths are now due to ten years of failed policy. He said that the policy failure was based on the absurd belief that speed cameras would deliver road safety for free.
Smith said, "With over 1,000 lives each year being lost due to bad policy, everyone should be saying, 'Let's make speed cameras as unacceptable as drink driving'".
In short, no one will listen.
Stace.
A camera will not detect idiotic driving methods other than that of driving fast.
>> Edited by cen on Monday 28th February 14:23
When your average motorist sees a camera, they slow down to below (or, in my experience, well below) the prevailing limit.
When the same average motorist sees a police patrol car, they slow down, check their mirrors, check their distance, use their indicators, pull into the inside lane after overtaking, behave courteously, etc, etc. In a nutshell, they drive better and not just slower.
Ditch the cameras and (never thought I'd say this) get more coppers out there.
Life is for living and it's pretty obvious that these debatable restrictions encroach on that enjoyment of life to the extent that the dubious figures and untrustworthy methods used to administer them are not worth the zillions of pounds spent.
That should throw a burning tyre round the new PH PC collectives speed camera
I have to add that the recent AOL vote of nearly 30,000 people overwhelmingly resenting speed cameras says it all really. The obsession with speed and its enforcement is clearly resented.
One only has to drive in Germany to see a generally sensible attitude to the whole aspect of safety, including well-trained and disciplined drivers.
The adult attitude towards speed on the autobahns is refreshing in comparison to the UK.
james_j said:
One only has to drive in Germany to see a generally sensible attitude to the whole aspect of safety, including well-trained and disciplined drivers.
The adult attitude towards speed on the autobahns is refreshing in comparison to the UK.
Gee, does anyone see a solution there?!? Clearly not the government.
havoc said:
One only has to drive in Germany to see a generally sensible attitude to the whole aspect of safety, including well-trained and disciplined drivers.
The adult attitude towards speed on the autobahns is refreshing in comparison to the UK.
Gee, does anyone see a solution there?!? Clearly not the government.
Why not government? Who else will influence attitudes, skills and responsibilities in our interests?
havoc said:
I merely meant that the post raised some, IMHO, self-evident truths about road safety.
And that our current government either cannot see or does not care about such self-evident truths - it is too busy shoring up and spinning an increasingly indefensible position.
Ahh! The government doesn't see... I read it as if the govt couldn't inflluence. Sorry!
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