Rant Another Rant! (One for Tom, really) :(

[Scouse]

Tom said it was a large percentage of the 3000 deaths, I didn't believe him, but it turns out to be 20%. Nothing to do with the motorways at all.

I also reckon it's because of drunk pedestrians walking out in front of cars rather than people shooting through crossings.

Lets face it, I can't see most of these deaths being caused by cars mounting the pavements. It'll be twats getting pissed up and running out into the road.

Although this isn't at all representative - I've known 5 people who got hit by cars and each one of them had just walked out of a nightclub...

 

[DaGaffer]

I also reckon it's because of drunk pedestrians walking out in front of cars rather than people shooting through crossings.

Lets face it, I can't see most of these deaths being caused by cars mounting the pavements. It'll be twats getting pissed up and running out into the road.

Although this isn't at all representative - I've known 5 people who got hit by cars and each one of them had just walked out of a nightclub...

I got hit by a horse* once when I was coming out of a nightclub, but then I am quite old...








*police horse. Its actually happened to me twice.

 

[Talyn]

I also reckon it's because of drunk pedestrians walking out in front of cars rather than people shooting through crossings.

<snipped>

Although this isn't at all representative - I've known 5 people who got hit by cars and each one of them had just walked out of a nightclub...

I have to agree, after having been a cabbie for 4 years, the times I had to be most cafeful was kicking out time at 11pm, and kicking out time at 3am.

The amount of knobs (male and female) who would just wander out into the road not taking any notice of the cars going was immense.

And not once did I ever see the police do anything about the drunkards getting in the way of 'legitimate' traffic. I guess they were busy waiting for fights to kick off instead.

 

[sayward]

Sorry but driving at 90mph on a motorway keeps me away from everyone else.

 

[Trem]

Apparently the rules of the road don't apply to DIY stores and supermarkets either. As soon as Brenda steps out of her Toyota Yaris the designated road area is hers to walk into as she pleases. She doesn't have to look either way because shes going shopping and everyone else can just fucking well stop!

Grrrrr.

 

[Tom]

20% of the deaths are peds. Of which, I seriously doubt you can fairly say they all just stepped out in front of a car, in the same way I can't blame cars for every one of the 3000 deaths.

Do you seriously think driver education would work? What measures would you put in place? I'm curious, as I can't see many people bothering to attend any extra training, or paying attention.

I heard once a figure that **% of pedestrian fatalities are the fault of the pedestrian. I can't find a source for it so its irrelevant to mention it. Just watch however the behaviour of pedestrians at road crossings in your average town or city. See how many actually stop, look, and listen, before crossing the road - a great many just wander out into the road without pause.

Driver education does work. I thought I was a good driver until I took the IAM course, actually I was probably around the average for anyone doing more than 20,000 a year but the course taught me a lot more about safe driving than I would ever have picked up myself. Simple rules like "never travel so fast that you can't safely stop in the distance you can see to be clear ahead", or "don't indicate unless there's someone who will benefit from the signal" - very simple lessons that make a significant difference to one's ability to be safe on the roads.

You can have a camera, or a traffic officer, but a camera won't pull a driver over for crossing a solid white line, for overtaking a cyclist with only 2 feet of clearance, for being drunk, not being observant, being uninsured, underage, or a million other things. Which do you think is likely to illicit a positive response - a ticking off from a traffic officer, or a fine through the post from a camera?

I know which I'd choose. As for speed limits, ultimately if we could get people to the point where they don't choose to set their speed according to a number on a stick, rather that they set their speed according to the conditions, we could do away with them completely. Exceeding the speed limit isn't necessarily dangerous - driving at an inappropriate speed is always dangerous.

 

[rynnor]

Road safety policy makes no sense to me??

Take the current massive number of TV adverts to get people to wear seatbelts - as far as I see most people wear them (except cabbies) and at the worst it only affects either that person or another in the same car?

However we all see dozens of idiots every day using a non hands free mobile while driving - even on busy roundabouts - the levels of offending are very high.

Recent studies show it to be more damaging to your driving skill than being drunk yet wheres the massive hard hitting campaign to tackle it???

Seriously distorted priorities IMHO!

 

[Scouse]

Apparently the rules of the road don't apply to DIY stores and supermarkets either. As soon as Brenda steps out of her Toyota Yaris the designated road area is hers to walk into as she pleases. She doesn't have to look either way because shes going shopping and everyone else can just fucking well stop!

Grrrrr.

Funny! I've just come back from B&Q and exactly the same thing happened to me - and the bitch was in a Yaris!

She was gently strolling down the centre of the road in the car park so I pulled up about 2 foot behind her and kept my hand on the horn until she was well out of the way. She, of course, blamed me

 

[Scouse]

I agree with everything Tom says above apart from:

"don't indicate unless there's someone who will benefit from the signal"

I disagree with this completely. What if you've missed the "someone who will benefit"? Our eyes aren't perfect...

Indicating doesn't cost anything and is simple and easy to do - so why not?

 

[Tom]

If you approach indication with the mindset that its only useful to do so if someone will benefit from the signal, it forces you to check around you to see if there is actually anyone there. Its a good method of improving observation.

What it essentially forces you to do is check around you every time you perform a manoeuvre. If you take the line that indication is something you should do regardless, you're less likely to bother with that check - and a flashing indicator won't stop you hitting the motorbike on your offside that wasn't visible in your mirror, but which would have been visible with a shoulder-check.

 

[Scouse]

Ah, I agree then. But TBFH I do the checks anyway - always have - mainly because I drive quickly. Either way, there's no real excuse not to...

 

[sayward]

The adverts to wear seat belts would do better if they explained that to get any insurance money in an accident you have to prove that you were wearing a seatbelt! The other side do not have to prove that you were not! And if you weren't or you can't prove you were you will get a lot less money.

 

[Trem]

As some of you may know I have just done my bike test and on the subject of indicating the instructor told me not to indicate unless someone is to benefit from it, I took that advice into my test and passed with only 1 minor so Tom may be right on that.

Lol Scouse, I always knew I was psychic, I bet you a fiver her name was Brenda as well.