dvenman wrote:I think we're all agreed here that driver education would have a longer lasting impact than speed limits.
Unfortunately the pressure is for quick fixes, and education won't do that.
Misconception 1: man is the cause, therefore education is the solution
Man has a central position in traffic. This means that traffic has to deal with human abilities and limitations. People make errors, even if they are well-trained and motivated: this is a universal human shortcoming crucial for traffic safety which is confirmed by crash analyses. This means that beside defects of the vehicle and roads, the human being is the most important cause of crashes. A commonly heard argument is that, consequently, most effort should be put into education, since infrastructure and vehicle are a lesser contribution to the problem. However, this line of thought fails to allow for the notion that the design or layout of the road environment can contribute to the prevention of errors, or limit the errors' consequences. Particularly man’s surroundings greatly influence human behaviour. Clearly, education also has an important role, but has limited scope. Ultimately, it is
important to know the effectiveness of various types of measures in relation with the human measure and to use this knowledge.
rodk wrote:What I would ask, is that if you want to understand the reasons why Traffic Authorities are implementing wide-area 20mph limits then you have to understand the wider societal benefits of lower speeds. I hope that my comments can help.
rodk wrote:Misconception 1: man is the cause, therefore education is the solution
Man has a central position in traffic. This means that traffic has to deal with human abilities and limitations. People make errors, even if they are well-trained and motivated: this is a universal human shortcoming crucial for traffic safety which is confirmed by crash analyses. This means that beside defects of the vehicle and roads, the human being is the most important cause of crashes. A commonly heard argument is that, consequently, most effort should be put into education, since infrastructure and vehicle are a lesser contribution to the problem. However, this line of thought fails to allow for the notion that the design or layout of the road environment can contribute to the prevention of errors, or limit the errors' consequences. Particularly man’s surroundings greatly influence human behaviour. Clearly, education also has an important role, but has limited scope. Ultimately, it is
important to know the effectiveness of various types of measures in relation with the human measure and to use this knowledge.
people make errors - even if they are well-trained and motivated
This means that beside defects of the vehicle and roads, the human being is the most important cause of crashes. A commonly heard argument is that, consequently, most effort should be put into education, since infrastructure and vehicle are a lesser contribution to the problem. However, this line of thought fails to allow for the notion that the design or layout of the road environment can contribute to the prevention of errors, or limit the errors' consequences.
rodk wrote:Alastair
Don't worry. I am not going to enter a debate about the effectiveness of SWOV and the credibility of their approach to Road Danger Reduction.
Take it up with them if you don't agree!
Rod
waremark wrote:Why do councillors think that blanket 20 limits on through routes will be popular (as politicians they would not impose them if they did not think that)? I never meet anyone who supports them and would like to know how many people do and their reasons.
Of course, I drive very slowly on narrow residential streets and unlike others here have no objection to enforcement of low limits in such locations (which of course does not happen). Also apparently unlike others, while I support efforts to improve education I don't have confidence that a realistically achievable amount of driver education is particularly effective at improving safety. Most drivers are capable of driving safely when they choose to do so.
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