Bunches of flowers better than Scameras
Discussion
Tafia said:
Paul Smith of Safespeed has already explained the reduction in accidents at some camera sites as being mainly due to 'regression to the mean' or a return to normal.
Some of those cameras could be removed and the bunches of flowers that sometimes appear at fatal accident sites left in place.
The next year it is quite likely, unless there is a road engineering problem, there will be no fatality in the same location. So bunches of flowers save lives just as effectively as speed cameras.
In Australia they put little crosses with names of the deceased on. They stay there permanently (as far as I know).
Certainly makes you consider things a bit more when hacking along the open roads. (Even though "hacking" in a 4.0 Diesel was about 80MPH tops if I was lucky!).
Could there be a cheaper alternative to scameras for everyone?
A few miles up the road there is a little shrine to a local lad (and scene of many fatals). It is on a long sweeping bend, that the local boys think it's big and clever to get round as fast as possible (got to hold my hand up here, and say I used to be young once as well). Recently the council lowered the speed limit from NSL to 40mph. A month or so after they lowered it, two cars full of old dears had a head on. Road closed, helicopters etc etc. They do enforce this new limit, but nowhere near this spot. Quite simply a mobile gatso would be seen, and a scamera wouldn't be able to park, so they enforce it up the road, where there is a nice big fence with a sign on it to hide behind. This of course will make a massive difference 
Phil
Phil
plotloss said:
You know where the M25 meets the Westbound M4?
On Friday last there were many cars parked on the hard shoulder affixing flowers to the armco to the left of Lane One.
Monumental stupidity IMHO.
Saw those yesterday when I came in to work - was thinking "Nahhh ... they can't have been so stupid to have been stopping on the hard shoulder to do that."
Obviously I was wrong ... more Darwin Awards candidates! :sigh:
Phil
plotloss said:
You know where the M25 meets the Westbound M4?
On Friday last there were many cars parked on the hard shoulder affixing flowers to the armco to the left of Lane One.
Monumental stupidity IMHO.
That properly causes an even bigger risk but I can unstand why they wanted to go there.
philthy said:
A few miles up the road there is a little shrine to a local lad (and scene of many fatals). It is on a long sweeping bend, that the local boys think it's big and clever to get round as fast as possible (got to hold my hand up here, and say I used to be young once as well). Recently the council lowered the speed limit from NSL to 40mph. A month or so after they lowered it, two cars full of old dears had a head on. Road closed, helicopters etc etc. They do enforce this new limit, but nowhere near this spot. Quite simply a mobile gatso would be seen, and a scamera wouldn't be able to park, so they enforce it up the road, where there is a nice big fence with a sign on it to hide behind. This of course will make a massive difference
Phil
Thats a good point.
You also never see the scamera vans out at night when the traffic levels are low.
The reason being they cant make as much money.
Still, at least its the only thing they do that makes sense, to not bother when the roads are quiet and likely to be safer.
plotloss said:I didn't realise anyone had died, but it doesn't surprise me given the jam around there on Thursday morning.
You know where the M25 meets the Westbound M4?
On Friday last there were many cars parked on the hard shoulder affixing flowers to the armco to the left of Lane One.
IIRC there was an accident on the Westbound M4 followed by another on the M25/M4 sliproad, presumably as someone came steaming up to a large amount of stationary traffic caused by the first accident.
There but for the grace of God...
That explanation by Paul is excellent & will demonstrate to many how the figures can be massaged in favour of cameras. Well done Paul 
If there are constant accidents at certain road junctions & bends then stick a sign up saying dangerous bend or re engineer the road. I know we have trianle signs & chevrons as warnings but 90% of motorists last read the highway code over a decade ago.
If there are constant accidents at certain road junctions & bends then stick a sign up saying dangerous bend or re engineer the road. I know we have trianle signs & chevrons as warnings but 90% of motorists last read the highway code over a decade ago.
In Greece the tradition is to erect a mini shrine where a fatal accident ocurred with some water, candle, photo of person etc. The idea with the water being if someone stops and drinks it they replace it.
The greek roads and driving is terrifying at times, on some bends you can count at least 8 of these shrines so it doesnt seem to deter the bad driving one tiny bit.
Must admit when im driving if i see flowers tied to a fence or roadside i do tend to actually slow down a bit so the idea might work.
The greek roads and driving is terrifying at times, on some bends you can count at least 8 of these shrines so it doesnt seem to deter the bad driving one tiny bit.
Must admit when im driving if i see flowers tied to a fence or roadside i do tend to actually slow down a bit so the idea might work.
lbir2 said:
In Greece the tradition is to erect a mini shrine where a fatal accident ocurred with some water, candle, photo of person etc. The idea with the water being if someone stops and drinks it they replace it.
The greek roads and driving is terrifying at times, on some bends you can count at least 8 of these shrines so it doesnt seem to deter the bad driving one tiny bit.
I always wondered what they were. Theres loads of em!
There is a particular corner near me on an NSL that some girls were recently killed on.
They pulled out of a junction just after the corner and stalled. A coach coming round the corner hit their car. I dont know any more than the fact it was fatal.
The flowers were there for a long time and made me realise this piece of road can be more dangerous then I first thought. Im know more cautious on that particular bend.
>> Edited by DustyC on Tuesday 13th July 15:07
It sounds like a serious post, but I'm not sure.Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff