Category Archives: Road Danger Reduction

A couple of cases of “accidental death”

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The use of the “accidental death” verdict has been campaigned on by our friends in RoadPeace . Let’s look at two recent cases:

“A man who used to chauffeur the stars of Carry-On films around Pinewood Studios died after being involved in a head-on crash while driving on the wrong side of the road near Poitiers, France. Douglas Lewis, 75, and his wide Pamela, 77, of Slough, Berkshire, were returning from their Spanish villa when they crashed into an oncoming van at 50 mph last April. Mrs Lewis was killed instantly, while Mr Lewis died three months later from his injuries. The Windsor Coroner returned a verdict of accidental death”. (The Times, 2nd February , 2013) Continue reading →

London's Cycle Safety Action Plan : A progress review

RDRF Chair Dr. Robert Davis has sat on the Transport for London convened Cycle Safety Working Group, charged with implementing the Mayor of London’s Cycle Safety Action Plan,  since it’s inception. Here is my report on my observations of its progress to the London Assembly hearing on Cycling and Cycling Safety Continue reading →

RDRF response to DfT consultation on Fixed Penalty Notices for careless driving

This is our response to the DfT’s “A consultation on changes to the treatment of penalties for careless driving and other motoring offences” . It states that the Government recognises that “careless driving is a serious road safety problem”. Do the proposals treat it as such? No, we don’t think so. The measure proposed is pathetic with regard to the scale of suggested FPN ticketing, with inadequate fines and an unjustified reliance on remedial training of offenders. Here is our response: Continue reading →

Some other things wrong withTfL’s “Towards a Road Safety Action Plan for London: 2020”

Let’s look at the rest of TfL’s “Towards a Road Safety Action Plan for London: 2020” It is basically the usual confusions, distortions and misguided mythology of “road safety” ideology. We have outlined some of the typical problems here, and, as always, suggest a look at: John Adams’ “Risk and Freedom: the record of road safety regulation” and a short discussion in his “Managing transport risks: what works?” Let’s consider some of the points made in the TfL document: Continue reading →

Disgraceful: TfL’s “Towards a Road Safety Action Plan for London: 2020”

Transport for London is holding a consultation process about this document until 28th September 2012. Obviously we wouldn’t expect a break from traditional “road safety” ideology in such a
document, but this one is particularly bad. Our colleagues in the CTC, for example, have criticised it for victim blaming and not moving forward from the 1960s. And there is one absolutely disgraceful feature to it. Continue reading →

Campaign season for cyclists’ safety: “See Me Save Me” and the blind spot question

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“BLIND SPOT”:

 OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY: an area in which a person lacks understanding or impartiality; COLLINS: a subject about which a person is ignorant or prejudiced, or an occupation in which he is inefficient

We are pleased to support “See Me Save Me”.  It is an organisation entrenched in the road danger reduction approach : and as such committed to reducing danger from lorries – towards pedestrians as well as cyclists – at source. We believe that doing this will require examining what exactly is meant by a “blind spot”. This not so much a question of technical fixes, but like all questions of safety on the road, about the power of some road users to endanger others. Continue reading →