hpcdriver wrote:VH, you are very positive about the effect of the current road safety regime, the main plank of which is reduced speed limits and more rigid enforcement. I think it is failing to reduce casualties - which have not fallen as much as would have been expected as a result of vehicle engineering improvements - and that Soren has given us a number of persuasive explanations of why this may be.
I continually say I prefer to see education. I am an observer only of the path taken & a speculator as to future paths. The path taken is not any of my doing.
I wouldn't say I'm positive about it, I'm just dealing in the facts presented, with maybe a little bit of devil's advocate thrown in as well.
2005 saw the lowest number of deaths (3201) ever & reductions in all injury collision types despite the largest number of vehicles & miles ever.
2004 before that had seen likewise (3221 deaths).
Is that not reducing casualties ?
hpcdriver wrote:I have several times pointed out that Scotland, which has not gone down the same route, and which has very extensive rural roads subject to the NSL, has a better road safety record.
Depends what figures you use.
Whilst Scotland faired better on fatalities it was worse on KSI reductions.
5.3% reduction against 6.2% in England over 2004.
I'm not sure exactly how Scotland isn't going down the same route though. They are seeing more cameras there (which they lagged a bit behind England & Wales in introducing).
hpcdriver wrote:You seem to have a very low opinion of people's driving abiliities. Although I do not train nearly as many drivers as you do, my experience is that people find it much easier to drive at a safe speed than to drive within the speed limit - they all find it quite extraordinarily difficult to keep to unrealistically low limits, and it distracts their attention from other aspects of driving.
I speak on ability levels as I find. There is little point in me saying the world is flat if I can see it is not. I do what I can to improve the situation, but my influence is in a limited arena.
hpcdriver wrote:I think we used to trust drivers to make reasonable and responsible judgements of safe speed. In the last 10 years we have ceased to do so, with massive lowering of limits and non-discretionary enforcement. Sadly, this has distracted from other road safety activities, has caused a great deal of pain and alienation, and has not contributed to road safety.
I don't think we did. I have always seen people prosecuted for being a margin over the limit without evidence of real danger being shown. You still see it now where real trafpol prosecute people for excess speed in Police camera action type programs. People driving were prosecuted for simply going over someone elses tolerance threshold. It's just with the advent of cameras they are ruthlessly efficient at doing that prosecuting. Without fear or favour they will report all who they see transgress above a tolerance limit they have been instructed to report for.
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