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ROAD SAFETY DOGMA IN CONFLICT
In this 'Road Safety Week', Brake are calling for 20mph limits and speed cameras outside schools but speaking on the Jeremy Vine programme on BBC Radio Two on Wednesday 9th November 2005, Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom said:
"In fact, very few people get killed or injured outside schools, which is very often the reverse of the public perception."
If that is so, why are Brake [The road safety lobby] wanting 20mph speed limits outside schools and speed cameras?
UK road safety is in a parlous state.
The authorities are chasing imaginary problems with entirely the wrong strategies.
When are the authorities and the safety pundits going to admit that they have it wrong?
Road safety is based on the skills, attitudes and responsibilities of our road users.
Most people need accurate information about road risks in order to perform better.
The small percentage of road users with skill deficits and or attitude problems must be dealt with by the Police in person.
Road safety can be delivered by strict and obsessive adherence to speed limits.
Speed restrictions are a useful tool, but they they are not the answer.
We must have drivers concentrating on the road ahead, not their speedometers.
We have to return to evidence supported road safety and get away from kneejerk policies that are founded on prejudice and dogma.
As Paul Smith of Safe Speed says,"Only sound science and analysis can save lives on our roads".
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