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The Problems.
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Introduction.
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Road
Accidents...
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Policing...
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Governments...
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Solutions???
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Objectives.
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The Website...
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Introduction.
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The Industrialized Nations
of the world pay a very
heavy price each year for their love affair with the motor car. To use one example, the
USA... the world's largest car market... in the 1990's
alone Road Accidents claimed over 400,000 lives... with
at least a further 4,000,000 being
permanently or seriously injured... and the final bill? a staggering
US$1,500,000,000,000. [One and a half Trillion Dollars.] Not even the sort of figures you
would expect in a major war... let alone the price
that ordinary citizens have to pay, simply for going about their everyday
business. [Article: The Trouble with
America?]
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High though these figures may appear... a great deal has
been done over the past few decades to reduce the number of road fatalities:
[UK: 1966 = 7,985... 2006 = 3,172] despite a huge increase in the number of
vehicles. Work done by... Governments, in passing legislation...
Engineers, building
better roads... Manufacturers, designing safer cars... Doctors, improving emergency medicine...
and countless others have all made significant contributions to Road
Safety. No doubt steady progress will continue in all these important
areas.
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However... despite the combined efforts of many
groups it would appear that the opening decade of the 21st century is set to
claim just as many victims as the last decade of the 20th century: [U.S.A. 2000-2006 =
298,508 fatalities.] Worldwide... approx. 1.2 million and rising. If
this number of people were being killed in any other way it would lead to wide
spread panic and a National Emergency... but because we are so used to hearing
about road accidents... they are hardly even considered newsworthy.
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Industrialised countries... have spent a
fortune on new roads and safer vehicles... and must now address the issue of 'driver
behaviour'. For Developing countries... building modern roads and buying
millions of new
vehicles is simply not an option. With limited resources, they will need
to find more innovative solutions. So, by a totally different route, they
still end up at the same issue... drivers! [Article: The
Trouble with Developing Countries?]
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Road Accidents...
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happen for a lot of different reasons, like...
adverse weather conditions... poor road layout, signage, construction or maintenance...
unroadworthy vehicles... a lack of policing... poor training... fatigue... bad
habits common to the prevailing Road Culture... one-off mistakes by low-risk
drivers... and finally,
the most common reason... drivers who cause accidents because of a pattern of
high-risk behaviour which has been allowed to develop and continue unchecked
over a period of time.
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| The Problems???
Many people won't even agree on what the problems really are: [i.e. exceeding speed limits v driving excessively
fast] what works: what doesn't: what should be done: [i.e. more speed cameras v
scrap speed cameras] what the motivation is: [road safety v revenue] or what
information can be trusted. What we do know... is that we now have a very
large number of people [maybe 2million???] driving around in unregistered vehicles, with no
MOT's, Tax or Insurance... breaking every rule in the book... sometimes,
literally, getting away with murder... and the Authorities spend their time issuing millions of tickets
to the law-abiding majority for minor infractions of the rules. Only in
the sick world of 'New Labour' could such a thing be happening! The present system
is an absolute joke... and something needs to change.
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At Road Supervisors... we are particularly concerned with the... number one
contributor to road accidents, and that is drivers... their 'Attitudes' and their
subsequent 'Behaviour'. This is the one aspect of road safety where
the Authorities have failed to make any real progress. The bottom line
is... it doesn't really matter how well you construct Roads... or how safely you
build Vehicles... if the person behind the steering wheel has a bad attitude and
their behaviour is out of control... you are going to have problems.
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It is probably fair to say, none of us are perfect drivers, 100% of the time...
most of us break some of the
rules... some of the time... and
we all make the odd mistake. But despite this... many drivers manage to cover tens of thousands
of miles over many years without becoming involved in an accident: ['low-risk' drivers.] It is not simply the
breaking of rules which is important... it is the context in which they are broken
that really matters... it is this which determines just how much danger or
inconvenience a driver is creating for other road users. [Article: Are Drivers the real
Problem?]
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Low-Risk...
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Despite what the Authorities would have us
believe... your average driver
is not dicing with death every time they stray over the
speed limit. Statistically, for each individual, fatal accidents are quite
a rare event. As a Nation... the UK has about 1 fatality for every 100million
miles we drive. Or, roughly... 1 fatality per year for every 10,000 drivers.
Or,
to put it another way... if you drove around doing 10,000 miles a year... for
10,000 years: [x 365 days = 3.65million days,] you could expect to have 1 fatal
accident. That means that
an average driver will only be caught out by a very unusual incident... set of
circumstances... or lapse of concentration.... and, there is nothing in
their day to day behaviour which is inherently dangerous.
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Anyone who drives a
vehicle... could be involved in an accident...
but, the biggest problems are undoubtedly caused by a small minority of
the most 'serious and persistent' offenders: ['high-risk' drivers.]
It is often quoted that certain groups, like young
or illegal drivers, will be 10X more likely to have an accident as experienced
drivers: [take the worst 10% out of the equation and the average accident
rate for the remaining 90% goes up considerably.] But that is on average... within these high-risk groups are very high-risk individuals... basically, the worst of the worst.
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You can never know exactly when an accident is going to
happen... they are by
nature unpredictable events. However... gather enough 'Information', and not only could you get a good idea as to
where and when they
are most likely to happen... you could also develop a very good insight as to the
who and the why... and that forms a very good basis for prevention.
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As an example... in most cases, where someone causes a serious road accident because
they were overtaking in a dangerous manner... this is not some 'one off' aberration. The driver would probably have done something very similar many times
in the past, but got away with it... the "accident" is in fact the result of a
pattern of reckless... 'high-risk' behaviour which had been allowed to develop
and continue unchecked
over a period of time.
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High-Risk...
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Anyone, from any age group, with any amount of
experience, or from any demographic could be a perfectly good, safe driver... or
could be a complete maniac. Having said that... there are certain groups
who can be considered high-risk... or very high-risk... and within these
groups... there will be the worst of the worst. For the average driver a
fatal accident might be a once in 10,000 years event... for a bad driver, a once
in 1,000 years event... while the worst of the worst flirt with death on a daily
basis. In the most extreme cases, like... joy-riders or criminals trying
to outrun the police... death and destruction becomes a likely outcome within
minutes. Some high-risk groups...
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- Young drivers... especially in the first few
years after they pass their driving test. Are more likely to take
drink or drugs... prone to peer pressure... have a tendency to take risks...
and generally, have poor hazard perception skills... can be a deadly
combination.
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- Elderly drivers... our chances of having an
accident increase as we get older... general health starts to deteriorate...
eyesight starts to fail... reactions slow down... etc.
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- Commercial drivers... for various reasons do
have a higher rate of accidents... under pressure to meet deadlines... on
unfamiliar roads... not their own vehicle... high mileage... long hours... are tired... stressed...
etc.
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- Bike riders... of every description are
high-risk because they are vulnerable in any kind of accident... whether it
is their fault or not. Can also be caught out by potholes full of
water... or oil on the road surface.
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- Illegal drivers... those who buy
unroadworthy vehicles and don't register, tax or insure them... which could
be... illegal immigrants... banned drivers... those who have never taken a
driving test... those engaged in criminal activities... or simply for financial
gain.
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- Legal drivers... who have all their
documentation in order... have experience... but for some reason have just
developed a high-risk style of driving... whether they are bad, mad or just
plain anti-social types... who think the rules just don't apply to them.
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If an Accident was
due to... an uncharacteristic error...
a lapse in concentration... or an unpredictable set of circumstances... then there probably
wasn't much you could have done to prevent it. If it was due to any pattern of
'high-risk' behaviour... then there probably was! Every individual is highly visible...
what they do, they do in a public place,
for all to see. What they do, can have a devastating affect on anyone in
close proximity... and that means if they are sharing your 'road-space'... then what they
do is your legitimate concern.
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| The 'high-risk' pyramid.
Road fatalities sit at the top of a statistical pyramid. For every
fatality there will be X-number of serious injuries: Y-number of slight
injuries: Z-number of minor prangs, with no injuries: it is like a
mathematical formula. [As an example, say... 1,000
fatalities: =10,000 serious injuries, =100,000 slight injuries, =1,000,000
minor prangs.] As you move down this pyramid you will find an even
larger number of 'near misses'... and at the very foundation of the
pyramid you will find... 'high-risk' behaviour.
Cut this ' high-risk' activity by 50%... and all the accidents, injuries and
deaths
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Policing...
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When the Police hand out
tickets for
Traffic Violations... or Speed Cameras are installed... it is an attempt to deter this 'high-risk'
behaviour. The Problem is... Police are few in number and see only a tiny fraction of what
actually goes on... and Cameras can never make objective assessments about
unsafe driving. 'Safe' driving is about how you Interact with
all other road users... and who better to form an opinion than those you
share the roads with?
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Effective Policing means... you do not have to directly trade
accidents, injuries and deaths... for fines, bans and imprisonment... it is quite
possible to have low rates of both. What you need is a higher degree of 'compliance'
to the rules of the road... when it really matters... and that means when
drivers are 'Interacting' with other road users. [Research shows... the
main reason that drivers comply to the rules is... the inevitability of
being caught... rather than the severity of any sentence.] |
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Ideally, Policing is done with the consent and
cooperation of the law-abiding majority. If it becomes a common
perception that the Police are just... going for easy targets... trying to
fill quotas... or raise revenue... support evaporates and relations between the
police and the public can be damaged. If police are spending their
time targeting dangerous and illegal drivers... and dealing with emergency
situations... then the relationship between the police and the general
public should be one of mutual support.
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Road Culture. Police say that
they aim to make speeding as "socially unacceptable" as drink-driving... but
when this is done badly it has the opposite effect. Getting a speeding
ticket and having points on your licence is now so common that they have
become "socially acceptable". People will openly say that they have
them... knowing it says nothing about them, their driving, their attitude or
their behaviour. The practice of 'point-swapping' is now so common...
that it
says a lot more about the state of the system than it says about the
individuals involved in it.
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| Drivers need to
know... the 'Rules of the Road'... and for their own protection... they also need to know the 'Law of
the Land'! Rightly or wrongly... for many people... the 'Law'
is no longer seen as something which is there to protect them... but
something that they need protecting from!! The Police do not
just concentrate on the worst offenders... they go for easy
targets. So, even if you think you are a really safe driver... it
could still be you that ends up getting a ticket! Those that get justice
are those that can afford it. If you can't afford a top
Lawyer... visit this website to see what an experienced Traffic Cop
has to say about protecting your Licence. UK
Driving Secrets. |
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Governments...
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When it comes to the issue of improving road
safety... the biggest single problem is Governments. Far from being
the solver of problems... they are actually the creator of problems... by
what they do... and by what they fail to do. 2008: there are about
2million illegal drivers in the UK... and responsibility for this can be
fairly laid at the door of New Labour... this is their creation.
This figure has risen sharply... and Labour are culpable in a whole range of
ways, from... presiding over a huge surge in illegal immigration...
creating an unending supply of cheap unroadworthy vehicles: [failing to
police the MOT system] relying on automated punishments, like speed
cameras: [which illegal drivers can avoid] reducing the numbers of traffic
police: [less chance of being caught] reducing the level of fines...
allowing serial offenders to escape punishment time and time again... etc.
etc. And at the same time... if you comply with all the legal
requirements... you will get hit at every turn.
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| We do not believe for one moment
that any Government is just going to implement the Concept we have outline on this
website. Any Country that was considering a radical new system such as this should go through a
very lengthy process of... thought, debate, consultation and refinement... involving all the various
stakeholders... Police, Courts, Insurance Companies, Manufactures, Motoring
Organisations, Safety Campaigners, the general Public,
etc... so that they produce a system that all groups find acceptable: [every
industrialized country has
a system of Income Tax... but no two systems are identical.] |
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Hence,
it is fully acknowledged...
there are many different options... and every single point we cover in the
following Concept/Plan could be endlessly debated and discussed... we do not claim for one
moment that this is... the best possible Plan. What follows is just one
example... to
demonstrate how it could be done and why we believe it would work. Any final
Plan could be implemented in stages... over a extended period of time... and could end up as something
quite different. [Article: Active
Citizenship... One
Small Step: One Giant Leap.]
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Governments... cannot solve
these complex Problems
with simplistic solutions! [i.e. just using speed cameras.] It
is our belief... with
all the resources and expertise available to a modern Government the road
safety issue could be dealt with in a far more sophisticated way.
Modern technology offers a whole range of new possibilities for the coming
decades... Governments do need to get
ambitious and 'think the unthinkable'... they should examine all their options...
and hopefully, the end result will not be the imposition of some multi-billion dollar
solution... that won't work... and nobody wants.
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Drivers. While most drivers
might agree with the general concept of making the roads safer... they are
highly resistant to change. But, there can be no improvements
without change... if you just continue doing exactly the same things as
you did before... the results will be a foregone conclusion. If you only
make a few small changes to a few things... any improvements will also be
small. Significant improvement will only happen when some aspect of
the driving process radically changes. So, if something has to change...
what changes would you be prepared to live with? [Article: Who should support this
type of System?]
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| Solutions???
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| If
you really want to see a significant reduction in road fatalities... you must be prepared to approach the
problem in a radically different way. The same old approach,
guarantees
the same old results! A successful system will need to achieve... a
general increase in standards right across the board... a significant
reduction in every kind of high-risk behaviour... the ability to target
and change some aspects of the Road Culture... the ability to identify any
areas of the road network that are contributing to inter-driver conflict.
Some solutions on offer... how do they measure up to objectives???
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- Safer vehicles... better roads... and improved medicine... all a given.
Much has been done in these areas and will continue to do so: [but
these issues are not being covered here.]
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- More/fewer
speed cameras... there is no real evidence to suggest these works
despite a load of dodgy statistics by the Government. The downsides
are just too numerous to mention. [See Article: Speed
Cameras... Life Savers or Cash Cows?]
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- Speeding signs... electronic warnings
which flash speeding drivers work much better... they have an
immediate effect... and don't cost drivers cash or points. May
reduce some high-risk behaviour.
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- More police patrols... these have a
'halo' effect... everyone close to them are on their best behaviour...
so you get an immediate reduction in any high-risk activity... but
drivers resume their normal behaviour the second a patrol turns off.
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- Unmarked police cars... which can be
very effective at catching drivers... but are not a very good
deterrent. Also very unpopular...
people seem to feel that they are a bit sneaky and underhanded for
some reason.
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- Road engineering... speed humps,
chicanes, etc. Cost millions to install... just to try and
control a very small minority of drivers. Not good for...
pollution, fuel consumption, wear and tear, or emergency vehicles.
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- Lower/higher speed limits... if
drivers flout existing speed limits they will also do it with new,
lower limits. If they drive dangerously... they will continue to
drive dangerously. Speed limits do not determine whether a
someone drives safely or not.
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- Education in schools... a 17-year-old
may undergo many hours of driver training... but go on to break the rules anyway...
why would anyone think that giving a few hours tuition to someone even
younger would be more successful?
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- More training for new drivers...
limited impact... drivers only start becoming high-risk once they have
gained their independence... which is usually after
they have passed their driving test. Some sort of graduated licence scheme
would be more effective.
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- Tests for older drivers... the chances
of us having an accident do increase as we start to age... but this
varies a great deal between individuals. Better to try and
identify those individuals who are starting to become a problem... and
work on a solution for them.
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- Media campaigns... some campaigns can
have some impact... but generally bombarding every
driver with the same simplistic messages, like 'speed kills' achieves
very little.
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- Alco-breathalysers... might work, but
should only be put into the vehicle of someone with a serious
drink-driving problem/conviction. No reason why everyone should be put to
this sort of expense and inconvenience.
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- New
technologies, like... ISA, EVI, V2V Information, black-boxes, self-driving cars... all are incredibly
expensive. Very effective for monitoring, controlling or
punishing law-abiding majority... not much good against the persistent
evaders and criminals.
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- Number-plate recognition...
with instant checks
against a data-base... would help to target the problem of illegal drivers... but
that could be done already if there was any political willpower.
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- Vague ideas,
about... better education, more compliance,
higher standards, targeting dangerous driving, changing the road culture,
etc. etc. Objectives that we would certainly agree with, but... the
devil is in the detail... how do you achieve these things?
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of these afore mentioned strategies are likely to be a great success... they can cost,
literally, billions... don't target any particular problems... they try to
give technology a job it isn't capable of doing... and undermines the
relationship between the police and the general public. What we
really need
is a system that... doesn't
cost a fortune... can target any
problem... and that has technology, drivers and the police all working
together for a common goal. Drivers may be the major problem... but drivers also need to be an integral part of the
solution.
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| [See
Article: New
Technologies for the Roads...]
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| [See
Article:
Strategies for reducing Road Fatalities...]
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| The Road
Supervisor Concept...
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| is both
'radical and innovative'... and could achieve all the necessary
objectives to ensure a significant reduction in road fatalities.
This type of system would support the law-abiding majority... and target
dangerous and illegal drivers. Could focus on any kind of problems,
offences, or demographics... would use a multi-strategy approach to change
aspects of the Road Culture... and identify any sections of the road
network which was contributing to inter-driver conflict... creating a
safer and more enjoyable driving experience.
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| This
type of system would... empower a large number of ordinary people so they could
act as a good example on the roads... be of assistance to people in
difficulties... act as a deterrent to bad behaviour... build good
relations by working with the authorities... and help identify any
high-risk individuals. Once identified, a whole range of strategies, based on... 'targeted'
education, social pressure and enforcement... could be used to ensure these drivers ceased their 'high-risk' behaviour
[in many cases, before
they caused a serious accident] and developed a style of driving that was
consistently... 'Safe, Considerate and Courteous'.
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| On the down-side... people don't like
change... and many will simply attack any new ideas regardless of their
merits. Inevitably, we will hear cries of... Fascism, Big
Brother, invasion of privacy, and violation of human rights! In
reply, we would say... it is the absolute opposite of Fascism or Big Brother if you empower people rather than the State... it
can't be considered 'privacy' if you are doing it in a public place... and
you have to balance one individuals right to go about their business...
with another's right not to be splattered across the public highway.
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Objectives...
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Our objectives... may be simple ones,
but achieving them will be
anything but easy. Our role will be strictly limited... so any success will
require a lot of Support... by a lot of People... over an
extended period of Time. People
often support ineffective Government policies because they believe the only
alternative is to do nothing. There are alternatives! Our
objectives...
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- in the long-term... to reduce the current level of
road accidents, injuries and deaths... by
engaging drivers and communities in a pro-active way.
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to develop and promote a road safety system which is based on the
concept of using
'Information' as the driving force for change... instead of various forms
of 'Punishment'.
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to develop a system which utilizes the power of the Internet...
Information technology: and modern Communications... to harness the skills
and knowledge of experienced drivers.
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- to develop a range of strategies for dealing with the problem of high-risk
individuals, based
on... motivation: deterrents: targeted education: social pressure:
enforcement: and punishment.
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- to develop a multi-strategy approach for dealing
with the problems of high-risk road cultures.
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- to create a road environment which is
safer, less aggressive, more courteous, more co-operative, more
enjoyable to drive in... with less speed cameras, speed humps, etc.
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- to put all the various options into the
public domain... where they can be scrutinized and compared with any other
system.
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- and to develop a social networking
website for discussing innovative ideas concerning new technology and
the road user.
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The Website...
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The following Sections... [linking from The Concept]... cover all the
details concerning... identifying specific problems associated with individual
drivers...
strategies for rectifying problems... which
drivers could become a part of the solution... what Information to gather... how Information
could be gathered... who would have access to Information... etc. etc. etc.
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The Concept... also covers many other aspects of the driving experience... i.e. Education:
Training: Licences: Points System: Courses: Raising Standards: Enforcement
Policies: Road Culture: etc. broken up into 9 different sections giving an
outline... then 9 sections covering the issues in more detail. There are also Articles relating to other
aspects of driving, like... Road Pricing: Traffic Congestion: and
Terrorism... looking at how a Road Supervisors type scheme might affect
these issues.
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Each Sections... contains an Introduction and a brief Outline... if more in-depth Information is required... just click
[Details] once into that
section. Interspersed... you will find links to numerous related Articles:
['Outside Articles' are mainly on the Drivers.com
website... which
in turn may be linked to even more articles on the subject.]
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Some Information... may appear under several different sections but
written from a slightly different perspective... this is mainly because people do not read a
website in its entirety, the same way that they read a book. Instead of reading from cover to
cover they tend to jump around from page to page: [so we apologise if this causes
any inconvenience.] A lot of opinions are based on Research... some
'Ideas' are genuinely held opinions based on a particular point of view...
other 'Ideas' may be included just because they are interesting...
provocative... or thought provoking. [Leave a Comment by E-mail
]
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Finally... if you would
like to become involved in this Project in some way, have a look at the Help
Us section... or simply make a
Donation. There
you will find as many possibilities to get involved as your... Time: Energy: Resources
and Talents will allow!
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| 2008:
Investment/Business/Sponsorship
Opportunity
this link will lead to
a Section
which outlines the options for expansion... but particularly expanding in
a commercial way... and the opportunities for an outside party with experience
and/or financial resources to become involved. |
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