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| RoadSupervisors.net
Launches a Concept That Could Reduce Road Accidents by Using the
Internet... |
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| Synopsis.
RoadSupervisors.net
has been developing an innovative concept which could significantly reduce
the current level of Road Accidents by utilising the power of the
Internet. Gathering Information to identify high-risk behaviour,
disseminating Information to rectify it. The promotional phase
of this concept is now being
launched as part of an online, interactive Project. |
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| RoadSupervisors.net
has been developing a radical and innovative concept which could
significantly reduce the current level of Road Accidents by utilising the
power of the Internet. Gathering Information in order to
identify the specific high-risk behaviour of individual drivers. Disseminating Information in order to systematically
rectify
that behaviour, using a multi-strategy approach. |
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| The promotional phase
of this concept is now being
launched as part of an online, interactive Project where any interested
parties are invited to offer their comments, opinions and ideas. |
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| For this type of
concept to succeed, Governments would need to take a radically different
approach. Instead of just looking at new technologies for more efficient ways to monitor, control and punish road
users, they need to find ways to empower them. Drivers may be the biggest problem, but drivers also
need to be an integral part of any solution. |
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| Worldwide, road
accidents claim more than 1.2 million lives each year and cost in excess
of US$500billion. More than 90% of accidents are due to some kind of
driver
error. A high proportion of these are the result of a pattern of
high-risk behaviour which has been allowed to develop unchecked, over a
period of time; rather than a one-off, genuine mistake. |
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| A sustained
reduction in fatalities requires two things, a significant reduction in
the level of this high-risk activity by the most serious and persistent
offenders and a general raising of standards by everyone.
Good driving is not simply about the strict observance of every rule.
It is the ability to "Interact" with other road users in a way that is
consistently safe, considerate and courteous. Technology cannot make
objective assessments about complex human interaction, experienced drivers
can. |
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| Various 'How's my driving?' type schemes have been in operation around the world for
some time. Basically: see an offence, take down the details, phone in a
report. Some have
managed to reduce accident rates by 20% or more, despite some very obvious
weaknesses in the system: i.e. there is no control over who reports, no
consistency to the Information gathered, no central collection
point for data and no particular strategies for using the Information. |
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| As this type of system has already proven to be
successful, a logical extension of this would be to create a 21st Century
version using the latest technology. An official scheme that
covered
everyone. Experienced, pre-registered
drivers could fill in detailed reports online. Gather consistent,
accurate
Information. Collect at a central processing point. Then disseminate that Information
in a variety of ways. |
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| The more a driver
was reported, the more the pressure would increase for them to modify
their behaviour. RoadSupervisors.net has been developing a whole
range of strategies based on, Motivation, Deterrents, Targeted Education,
Social Pressure, Enforcement and Punishment. |
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| Motivation: more drivers could be encouraged to improve their
driving and maintain a higher standard of behaviour, especially if given a definite reason for doing
so, like becoming part of a 'Road Supervisor' type scheme. |
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| Deterrent: others would simply be
deterred from the
worst excesses of behaviour, knowing that their chances of being reported would be very high with so
many Road Supervisors about. |
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| Targeted Education:
the best way to improve at any activity is to
combine practise with feedback. Practise improves through
experience. Feedback fine tunes a person's skills.
Reports sent to a driver would let them know exactly what they were doing wrong.
Specially printed leaflets,
relevant to every offence mentioned, would let them know what they should
be doing in the future. |
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| Social Pressure:
could be used by making Information readily accessible over the Internet to those who were in 'Positions of
Influence'. Simply click on to a website, type in the driver's
licence number and see how many times they had been reported and
for what. Those
drivers who did not voluntarily
alter their behaviour might be pressured into making changes by their
own Family, their Employer, their Insurance company: etc. |
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| Enforcement:
special Review Panels could be set up to deal with those drivers who were
clearly unable or unwilling to change
through their own efforts. Having the
power to assess, re-educate, re-train, monitor, suspend or demote any 'high-risk'
drivers
as required. |
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| Punishment: must
always be an option, especially when dealing with those serious offenders who have caused death or
injury because of reckless behaviour. Ideally, various forms of punishment
would be the final option, when all else fails, rather than the first and
only option. |
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| New technologies such as
satellites, barcodes, radio chips and cameras will inevitably bring about some
very fundamental changes, but until technology is sophisticated enough to, literally, drive the vehicle
unaided it can only be one part of the solution. Until then any
effective solution will require a combination of the authorities,
technology and drivers, all working together. |
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The Road
Supervisors Network was founded by Andrew Macnamara.
The website gives full details of this Road Safety Concept. Includes numerous
articles... covering many different aspects of the driving experience... with
the emphasis on using technology as a means of
empowering ordinary citizens. |
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website: http://www.RoadSupervisors.net |
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contact: awmacnamara@aol.co.uk |
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