RE: Anti-Speeding Figures Greatly Exaggerated
Friday 17th September 2010
The Department for Transport has revealed that the government's long-running Think! road safety campaign greatly exaggerated the chance of a pedestrian dying when being hit by a car at certain speeds.
Anti-Speeding Figures Greatly Exaggerated
Campaign detailing probability of death at 30mph was based on 1970s numbers, DfT admits
The campaign suggested that a car travelling at 30mph had a 20 per cent chance of killing any pedestrian it hit, while at 40mph the probability of death rose to 80 per cent.
But these figures are based on data from the 1970s - since when both car safety design and emergency medical have improved markedly - and latest research now puts the chance of pedestrian death at 31 per cent at 40 mph and just 7 per cent at 30 mph.
Mike Penning, the road safety minister, said: "Road safety is a priority for the Government, but misleading statistics only serve to undermine our case, not help it".
What's most interesting is that the newer figures actually mean it is proportionately even more dangerous to pedestrians for cars to travel at 40mph in urban areas. The old figures meant you were four times more likely to be killed if hit by a car at 40mph than 30mph - the latest figures make death 4.5 times more likely if hit at 40mph, even though the probability of death or serious injury is severely reduced in both cases.
The Government criticised Labour for not releasing the updated information sooner, but accepted that the previous administration had originally used the figures in good faith.
Pic: Kate Jewell
Discussion
t the Government speak.They lie about pretty much everything and the whole reason for stats being introduced was to be manipulated in anyway they see fit.
Its an utter disgrace how safe drivers get victimized, guilt tripped, and used as an extra revenue stream by being taxed to the hills about 5 times on our money. Why aren't the people responsible for this put up in front of a judge like any of us would be if we had cooked the stats to gain a financial advantage and lie to the public and get justice served once and for all? Doesn't this just highlight how the rule makers don't live by the rules they create for everyone else its disgusting.
Its an utter disgrace how safe drivers get victimized, guilt tripped, and used as an extra revenue stream by being taxed to the hills about 5 times on our money. Why aren't the people responsible for this put up in front of a judge like any of us would be if we had cooked the stats to gain a financial advantage and lie to the public and get justice served once and for all? Doesn't this just highlight how the rule makers don't live by the rules they create for everyone else its disgusting.
LukeBird said:
I'm surprised we haven't been re-limited to 2mph in town & 4mph in the country with a man waving a red flag...!
Road marshals is a fun idea for the unemployed.Yellow flags for slow down.
Blue flags to let emergency services past.
Purple flags for Caravan or Tractor ahead
I still firmly believe there is a fundamental flaw in the idea of making roads safe for pedestrians.
Pedestrian VS car/bike/whatever is never going to came off better than something weighing on average 1.4tons (cars at least).
Can we stop making roads 'safe' for pedestrians please? They aren't, they won't ever be, I don't want to hit anyone at 10mph because a pedestrian wasn't looking because roads have been made 'safe' in their mind.
Roads are for cars/bikes/whatever, pavements are for people.
Once the fear of god has been put in people's minds about roads and how dangerous they are in any situation and they start respecting that the second you place your foot on a road you are in their domain, accidents will go down.
Pedestrian VS car/bike/whatever is never going to came off better than something weighing on average 1.4tons (cars at least).
Can we stop making roads 'safe' for pedestrians please? They aren't, they won't ever be, I don't want to hit anyone at 10mph because a pedestrian wasn't looking because roads have been made 'safe' in their mind.
Roads are for cars/bikes/whatever, pavements are for people.
Once the fear of god has been put in people's minds about roads and how dangerous they are in any situation and they start respecting that the second you place your foot on a road you are in their domain, accidents will go down.
Stew2000 said:
LukeBird said:
I'm surprised we haven't been re-limited to 2mph in town & 4mph in the country with a man waving a red flag...!
Road marshals is a fun idea for the unemployed.Yellow flags for slow down.
Blue flags to let emergency services past.
Purple flags for Caravan or Tractor ahead
Moogle said:
I still firmly believe there is a fundamental flaw in the idea of making roads safe for pedestrians.
Pedestrian VS car/bike/whatever is never going to came off better than something weighing on average 1.4tons (cars at least).
Can we stop making roads 'safe' for pedestrians please? They aren't, they won't ever be, I don't want to hit anyone at 10mph because a pedestrian wasn't looking because roads have been made 'safe' in their mind.
Roads are for cars/bikes/whatever, pavements are for people.
Once the fear of god has been put in people's minds about roads and how dangerous they are in any situation and they start respecting that the second you place your foot on a road you are in their domain, accidents will go down.
An excellent point but then again, Stop Look Listen Think never made much money but it did save a lot of lives. Pedestrian VS car/bike/whatever is never going to came off better than something weighing on average 1.4tons (cars at least).
Can we stop making roads 'safe' for pedestrians please? They aren't, they won't ever be, I don't want to hit anyone at 10mph because a pedestrian wasn't looking because roads have been made 'safe' in their mind.
Roads are for cars/bikes/whatever, pavements are for people.
Once the fear of god has been put in people's minds about roads and how dangerous they are in any situation and they start respecting that the second you place your foot on a road you are in their domain, accidents will go down.
If I swim in the ocean and drown, you wouldn't blame the sea. If I go on a train track and get hit then it wont be the train at fault.
Pedestrian education needs much more air time and if the government does want to cut accidents this would be a good start.
Ved said:
Moogle said:
I still firmly believe there is a fundamental flaw in the idea of making roads safe for pedestrians.
Pedestrian VS car/bike/whatever is never going to came off better than something weighing on average 1.4tons (cars at least).
Can we stop making roads 'safe' for pedestrians please? They aren't, they won't ever be, I don't want to hit anyone at 10mph because a pedestrian wasn't looking because roads have been made 'safe' in their mind.
Roads are for cars/bikes/whatever, pavements are for people.
Once the fear of god has been put in people's minds about roads and how dangerous they are in any situation and they start respecting that the second you place your foot on a road you are in their domain, accidents will go down.
An excellent point but then again, Stop Look Listen Think never made much money but it did save a lot of lives. Pedestrian VS car/bike/whatever is never going to came off better than something weighing on average 1.4tons (cars at least).
Can we stop making roads 'safe' for pedestrians please? They aren't, they won't ever be, I don't want to hit anyone at 10mph because a pedestrian wasn't looking because roads have been made 'safe' in their mind.
Roads are for cars/bikes/whatever, pavements are for people.
Once the fear of god has been put in people's minds about roads and how dangerous they are in any situation and they start respecting that the second you place your foot on a road you are in their domain, accidents will go down.
If I swim in the ocean and drown, you wouldn't blame the sea. If I go on a train track and get hit then it wont be the train at fault.
Pedestrian education needs much more air time and if the government does want to cut accidents this would be a good start.
Milks said:
Ved said:
Moogle said:
I still firmly believe there is a fundamental flaw in the idea of making roads safe for pedestrians.
Pedestrian VS car/bike/whatever is never going to came off better than something weighing on average 1.4tons (cars at least).
Can we stop making roads 'safe' for pedestrians please? They aren't, they won't ever be, I don't want to hit anyone at 10mph because a pedestrian wasn't looking because roads have been made 'safe' in their mind.
Roads are for cars/bikes/whatever, pavements are for people.
Once the fear of god has been put in people's minds about roads and how dangerous they are in any situation and they start respecting that the second you place your foot on a road you are in their domain, accidents will go down.
An excellent point but then again, Stop Look Listen Think never made much money but it did save a lot of lives. Pedestrian VS car/bike/whatever is never going to came off better than something weighing on average 1.4tons (cars at least).
Can we stop making roads 'safe' for pedestrians please? They aren't, they won't ever be, I don't want to hit anyone at 10mph because a pedestrian wasn't looking because roads have been made 'safe' in their mind.
Roads are for cars/bikes/whatever, pavements are for people.
Once the fear of god has been put in people's minds about roads and how dangerous they are in any situation and they start respecting that the second you place your foot on a road you are in their domain, accidents will go down.
If I swim in the ocean and drown, you wouldn't blame the sea. If I go on a train track and get hit then it wont be the train at fault.
Pedestrian education needs much more air time and if the government does want to cut accidents this would be a good start.
It'd be nice if our local MP (Mike Penning), sorted out the roads in Hemel Hempstead, especially if he's now the Minister for transport.
When i wrote to him about the crap state of the roads, after my alloy was buckled, he just let the local council hide behind a crap policy, that if they don't see the issue they can't fix it.
Potholes kill! That should be the new campaign!!
When i wrote to him about the crap state of the roads, after my alloy was buckled, he just let the local council hide behind a crap policy, that if they don't see the issue they can't fix it.
Potholes kill! That should be the new campaign!!
It really doesn't help that it appears the underlying intention is to deceive the motorist into believing false statistics in order to push through misguided road changes, all in the name of road safety.
It's also kinda 'funny' that motorists must be the biggest collective in the whole country (making union membership look like a house party) but continue to bend over and take whatever we're given.
Finally, the day when people accept responsibility for their own actions when walking, cycling, driving etc and accept that accidents do happen, without wishing to cash in on the event, will be a very good day.
It's also kinda 'funny' that motorists must be the biggest collective in the whole country (making union membership look like a house party) but continue to bend over and take whatever we're given.
Finally, the day when people accept responsibility for their own actions when walking, cycling, driving etc and accept that accidents do happen, without wishing to cash in on the event, will be a very good day.
Milks said:
1 in 3 pedestrians hit by cars are on the pavement at the time
The type of people who mount the curb and run people over are unlikely to be talked out of speeding by a poster campaign though.We had a TV advert in Scotland recently essentially telling people not to rape women. Every time i watched it i wondered exactly who it was aimed at. Is there really a section of society who could be considered 'floating voters' on the subject of rape? Sitting at home thinking, "should I, shouldn't I, what to do, what to do...". And then they see a government advert on telly and think "actually no, that would be wrong".
Completely ludicrous.
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