I’m pleased to report that Local Transport Today, the fortnightly journal for transport practitioners, has given us a significant outlet for publicising Road Danger Reduction (RDR) in it’s special supplement “Road Safety: Towards 2020″, out now (LTT570 06 May – 19 May 2011). Below I reproduce the published article of your Chair’s description of RDR- and how it differs from the rest of the contributions in the supplement. The supplement also includes a piece by Norma Fender, the UK’s first Road Danger Reduction Officer, on RDR work at LB Lambeth. Thanks LTT! Read more »

 The previous two posts have criticised the AA for its attempts to portray itself as a supporter of safety on the road. A more recent AA “road safety” initiative has got some agreement from our friends in the national cyclists’ organisation, the CTC. I think they’re wrong, and this is why: Read more »

It’s nice to see there were justifiably indignant responses to the AAs dreadful stunt recently. It’s worthwhile to see who reacted and how – and who didn’t. Read more »

Most London Borough’s Local Implementation Plans (LIPs) for the next five years have gone through the consultation process, so it’s probably too late to make comments now. But it’s still worth commenting on what was put into them as indicators of how far Road Danger Reduction (RDR) is being considered by London Boroughs. We have commented on how much RDR is being referred to before . LB’s Lambeth, Southwark, Ealing, Haringey, Brent and Corporation of London all refer to the RDR approach. But most are failing  to push through RDR policies, or even set out a full RDR agenda. Below we look at what’s going on… Read more »

LB Lambeth hosted the seminar under this title on March 16th. Below RDRF Chair Dr. Robert Davis gives an account and his views of where this productive seminar takes the Road Danger Reduction agenda: Read more »

A postscript to our pieces here and here. The BBC has replied to complaints by RDRF supporters with the following Read more »

In London it’s consultation time for Local Implementation Plans and the occasion for seeing what your local authority might be saying with regard to road danger and sustainable transport. What follows is relevant for Local Transport Plans throughout the country, but I’ll be concentrating on London as I know more about it.

London Borough of Lambeth (first Highway Authority in the UK to have a Road Danger Reduction Manager) is going to be running a seminar on March 16th: “Embedding Road Danger Reduction in Local Transport Plans” at which I’ll be giving a version of this post. Places are pretty much taken up, but if you want to come – it’s invitation only – do drop me an e-mail at chairrdrf@aol.com . So: what is happening with the London LIPs? Read more »

Here are some additions to the previous post which should help you deal with the inevitable opposition. Any suggestion that idiot-proofing the car environment (as shown in the Horizon film) is anything less than positive will be met by one crucial argument.
This argument is this: Measures such as seat belts, roll bars, air bags, collapsible steering wheels are the main reason (along with highway engineering such as cutting down roadside trees, installing crash barriers, anti-skid treatments etc.) are the main reason why road traffic deaths per motor vehicle distance travelled have declined through the twentieth century in countries experiencing motorisation.
This argument is wrong: take a look here for a very brief explanation why. Read more »

My answer to this question is: Yes. If you want to see how the BBC displays the worst of “road safety” culture, look at this programme broadcast on February 9th 2011: (If you want to protect your screen, watch with no heavy objects to hand).

What makes this connivance even worse is that it occurs in the name of safety and “saving lives”. If you are unfamiliar with the principles of Road Danger Reduction, let’s start off by defining some basic terms: Read more »

As we enter 2011 there is a strong chance of a step change in the adoption of Road Danger Reduction (RDR) policy by a local authority – and by a city, no less.
While some of the ideas of RDR have filtered through to at least parts of the mainstream – and to all those bodies with any kind of genuine concern for the well being of cyclists and pedestrians and for sustainable transport policy in general – the uptake of RDR has been patchy, to say the least. Even the 30 or so local authorities that have signed the RDR Charter have either fallen by the wayside, or else been unable to address the problems of traditional “road safety” ideology and practice, even where key Councillors and officers are sympathetic.
Hopefully this may be about to change if Bristol City Council follows up on the report Road Danger Reduction in Bristol? , a report organised by Bristol City Council Road Safety, Bristol PCT and the University of the West of England http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Transport-Streets/Road-Safety/road-danger-reduction-in-bristol.en .
While there is a lot which is heartening in the report, plainly a great deal of work needs to be done to embed the positive attitudes displayed in the work of the Council. Read more »