3 miles from home

[Gareth]

Hi everybody,

I've just seen a public information advert on the tele which implies that most accidents and collisions involving motorcyclists take place within 3 miles of home.

The strapline was something like ride the roads you know the same as the roads your don't, which is obviously a good sentiment and should apply equally to car drivers.

Anyway I was wondering, do most accident take place close to home?

Does this apply to all/most types of vehicle?

<Slightly jokingly>If it does, should there be an automatic presumption of blame resting on the person who is closest to home?</Slightly jokingly>

[Big Err]

Anyway I was wondering, do most accident take place close to home?

Does this apply to all/most types of vehicle?

Hi Gareth,

In my geographic area I know for definite that the majority of car drivers are involved in collisions are close to home, which broadly reflects the majority of journeys carried out by car being short ones eg school run, shopping etc.

As for motorcycles I 've just looked at our local stats and am surprised that locals make the majority of those involved. I expect in the more rural areas this may be different with less commuting bikers and more touring bikers.

Eric

[Big Err]

Then surely the answer is obvious: to cut accidents dramatically, no-one should start a journey less than 3 miles from home.

Would save on congestion, fuel, pollution and encourage folk to get off their fat a***s.

[rlmr]

Remember the old saying...

Familiarity breeds contempt

Quite applicable to driving. Drivers think they know their own patch and are consequently not as attentive to the "clues."

During the Advanced Driving course the instructors always warned the students about this phenomenon as so often students would drive on what they thought they knew rather than on what they saw, complemented by local knowledge.

[Susie]

I remember some statistics (no doubt much massaged and manipulated) from a long while ago, supporting this statement - can't find anything atm but it was pre-computers, so is probably in a filing cabinet somewhere in the corridors of power!

The reasons for having crashes within 3 miles of home were stated as:

First thing in the morning - cold car, cold brain
Tired, returning from a hard day's work - auto-pilot mode
Same route - I've always chopped that junction and there's never been anyone there before
I don't need to bother to put my seatbelt on - I'm only going down the road.
etc

I remember two incidents - in the first, (and within 500 yards of home) the driver slid on a patch of diesel - straight into a lamppost - she died.
In the second, a friend's mother didn't bother putting on her seatbelt as she was only cadging a lift to the shop round the corner. The driver cut the corner at a junction and hit another car - and she went through the windscreen. She lost her nose and after 15 operations to graft flesh and skin from her forehead and re-shape it into something resembling a proboscis, she gave up trying to retrieve her former face.

[7db]

I assume most driving happens within 3 miles of home -- certainly 6 miles of most journeys do...