latest speed cameras

[vanman]

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/cars/news/new ... gnout&pc=U

Managed to read through this article, increased my vocab. no end.

[Jonquirk]

“It comes after the news that one in four fatal collisions on UK roads happens because of speeding.“

And ignores the corollary that three out of four fatal collisions do not happen because of speeding.

[Triquet]

Deep joy. I shall stay in bed.

[Triquet]

And with the increase in 20 mph limits, DRiving Day routes may need to get shorter ...

[Strangely Brown]

“It comes after the news that one in four fatal collisions on UK roads happens because of speeding.“

And ignores the corollary that three out of four fatal collisions do not happen because of speeding.

I'm not convinced that's even true. Reg Local's book How Not To Crash goes through all of the recorded causes of "accidents" from most to least common and, AFAICR, speeding is nowhere near the top.

"happens because of speeding" and "speed being a contributing factor" are not the same thing.

[Horse]

“It comes after the news that one in four fatal collisions on UK roads happens because of speeding.“

And ignores the corollary that three out of four fatal collisions do not happen because of speeding.

I'm not convinced that's even true. Reg Local's book How Not To Crash goes through all of the recorded causes of "accidents" from most to least common and, AFAICR, speeding is nowhere near the top.

"happens because of speeding" and "speed being a contributing factor" are not the same thing.

Same applies to the oft-quoted "95% human error" stat. The original research gave is as a contributory factor, not the only one.

Also, is it speed in excess of the limit, excess speed for the conditions - which the camera system might not consider.

However, if we take it at face value, but say focus on the other 75%, what are they?

[Strangely Brown]

However, if we take it at face value, but say focus on the other 75%, what are they?

I don't have the book to hand right now but it's an interesting read and definitely worth picking up a copy.

ETA: got it.

I'm not here to press home the well-worn and boring road safety messages we're all aware of - the dogmatic "speed kills", "don't drink and drive", don't text and drive" messages we hear on an almost daily basis. In fact, when you get to those sections of the book, you might be amazed by how few accidents are actually caused by speeding, drink driving and texting at the wheel.

That's not to say that these activities aren't risky - they certainly are, but the vast majority of accidents are actually caused by people simply not paying attention - far more accidents, in fact, than all of those caused by people speeding, drink driving and texting combined.

Well, I guess enforcing speed limits is easy and lucrative. Getting people to take responsibility for themselves while driving is hard [*].

[*] I'd argue there are some easy options but they are vote losers and will never fly.

[Horse]

I'm not here to press home the well-worn and boring road safety messages we're all aware of - the dogmatic "speed kills", "don't drink and drive", don't text and drive" messages we hear on an almost daily basis. In fact, when you get to those sections of the book, you might be amazed by how few accidents are actually caused by speeding, drink driving and texting at the wheel.

That's not to say that these activities aren't risky - they certainly are, but the vast majority of accidents are actually caused by people simply not paying attention - far more accidents, in fact, than all of those caused by people speeding, drink driving and texting combined.

From what I've heard, stats-wise, the 'big four' that's often talked about are not so well-founded.

There's also likely to be an association that someone who is happy to ignore one law will do so for others too.

But 'not paying attention'? I think that's too simplistic. From a motorcycling perspective, riders often suffer from 'not being seen'. Which might fit RL's 'attention' statement. But the facts are more complicated (although this is a fairly easy read):
https://scienceofbeingseen.org/

[*] I'd argue there are some easy options but they are vote losers and will never fly.

Try us anyway

[jont-]

I'm certainly interested to see how well in car driver monitoring is going to work. I suspect rather badly, because if the calibration was set to a useful level, the number and frequency of drivers that would get berated by the system would quickly put folk off buying the models that continually nudged them. And I'm curious about whether the systems will even cope with manufacturer induced distractions such as touchscreens

[Strangely Brown]

But 'not paying attention'? I think that's too simplistic.

The relevant chapters in the book do give a much more granular breakdown. Certainly too much to cover here.

[*] I'd argue there are some easy options but they are vote losers and will never fly.

Try us anyway

The lowest hanging fruit is to stop giving licences back to people who have clearly displayed no appreciation of the privilege. i.e. if someone is banned then make it for a meaningful period and then require an extended test to get it back. Also do not allow people to plead hardship when about to be banned. What's that? You'll lose your job? Tough. Should have thought of that before. Oh, and anyone caught driving while banned goes to prison for at least the duration of their ban and then serves the ban after release. I have never understood the concept of serving sentences concurrently. Multiple infractions means multiple sentences to be served consecutively.

I have often thought that there should be a cap on the number of licensed drivers and a queue to get one. If you get banned then you serve the ban, which would be for a meaningful period of time and then you go to the back of the queue. I have no idea how quickly the queue would move as I do not know the relative figures for test passes vs ban/surrender/death rate.

Too harsh?

Of course, it's all academic because the deterrent effect is directly proportional to the likelihood of being caught. Without a properly funded and highly visible[*] roads policing presence that are capable of picking up "bad driving" as opposed to technical infringements of numbers on sticks it all falls down. I offer into evidence exhibit 'A' - <looks around and gestures to the current driving environment>.

Anyway. I'll crawl back into my hole now, tick off another job on the memsahib's list, and then go for a drive.

[*] Unmarked too. They are not that hard to spot if paying proper attention.