Safe Speed Forums

In Gear said
but anyone who drives for a living should have qualifications above the normal standard in any case.

PhD. in Parcels!
Doctorate in Deliveries!
Master of Multi-drop!

Anyone who drives for a living should learn by experience, as they cover the mileage,

Who trained the first Police driving instructor?
What qualifications did he have?.

fatboytim

I agree, it would be better. But, as ever, who pays directly for this extra tuition?

I did the IAM and ROSPA tests before i started full time employment. but have had no formal driving training in the 14 years since and i've covered some 25-30k each year in that time, driving cars, small and large vans, 6.5 tonne trucks, and pulling caravans and trailers.

if my employer offered to pay, i would gladly do it. But how many men are going to say " my driving isn't quite up scratch, i'd like to go on a course to improve it and I'd like you (my employer) to pay"??

According to the Dept of Transport there are approximately 2,000 prosecutions for car drivers to every bicycle rider. A 1:2,000 ratio suggests that van and car drivers are a greater danger on the roads than cyclists. Cars and vans are faster, heavier and as a result can and do kill.
Why don't van and car drivers obey speed limits? If they did there would be no need for speed cameras. If they don't want to obey the law, they must pay. It's so simple, even a child could understand.

I think it was Sir Malcolm Campbell.

Holder of the World Land Speed Record.
Britain's top racing driver of the time.

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"Politicians are the same the world over... We build bridges where there aren't any rivers." - Nikita Kruschev

it suggests nothing of the sort. Perhaps police target car and van drivers and ignore cyclists? Perhaps there are 2000x as many car and van drivers on the roads?

Cycles kill too, and surprisingly pose a greater risk to pedestrians per mile travelled than light goods vehicles.

http://www.safespeed.org.uk/pedrisk.html



It's not simple at all. It's extremely complex and involves the dymanic risk assessment processes of 32 million licenced drivers.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

[quote="SafeSpeed"]

Cycles kill too, and surprisingly pose a greater risk to pedestrians per mile travelled than light goods vehicles.

http://www.safespeed.org.uk/pedrisk.html

erm, no, cyclists have a greater risk of hitting a pedestrian per mile travelled. This is only of interest to the vehicle/cyclist.

However the pedestrian has a greater risk of being killed by a van as more peds are hit by vans than by cycles. This is of interest to the pedestrian.

no doubt they're thinking just that as they step out in front of me. I wonder what they think will happen if they get hit by a bike doing 20-30mph.

Usually the cyclist comes off worst...

I'm very interested (in an academic sort of way) in the slant you imply by chosing and emboldening 'being killed'.

If someone stepped off a cliff would you imply that the rocks below were to blame for his demise?

If someone recklessly stepped into fast moving traffic would you choose a different description?

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

what's that got to do with it? The pedestrian will still be damaged.

Because they're set far too low, and in the wrong places.

Even a child could understand? Is that why drivers are treated like children?

Simply because your figures do not show the risk to the pedestrian. They show the risk to the driver. Therefore they cannot be taken as indicating that vans are safer to peds than bikes.

I don't suppose the following figures have been recorded accurately, if at all, but i would like to see.
a) the number of pedestrians hit; categorised by bicyles, cars, vans, trucks etc.
b) the ratio of these hit on the pavement/road
c) the ratio of the vehicles below/above the speed limit and below/above the safe speed for the road conditions
d)how many of each were influenced by drink/drugs etc.

Only then will we have truly meaningful figures.

Halleluia!

And until then it pays to be very circumspect with stats..

For those that haven't seen it - Clarkson has a very good reply in his column in the Sun.
He doesent actually mention it , but thought i would - cost of fuel /repairs /vehicle maintenance to an employer - very little when you think of it, all/most of it tax deductable .
Journey of 210 miles at 50 = 4.2 hours, at 70 = 3 hours . Means that workers spend more time on the job. earning employer more than the cost of the extra fuel , because for most of it the vehicle would be in 5th gear.However the Govt could do it's bit to reduce fuel consumption - employ more traffic police on motorways to remove lane hogs and reduce congestion, cure tailgaiting , which breeds the wave effect and allow drivers to give themselves more room in front (safe from the cut in pest)
and allow traffic to flow more smothly.

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

Companies can also consider if all the journeys are essential, and if there are other solutions. Car sharing once a fortnight reduces your commute by 5%. etc.

My view was that not all the blame lies at the door of the van driver - he conveniently gets the blame - but how often is it due to the rep whose sales target are the be all and end all.

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

...or the director in his £70,000 smoothmobile...

Precisely - and precisely what IAM etc teach people to do ... to learn to evaluate each drive and consider how they may improve technique, smoothness and - most importantly - if there is a near miss sitiuation for any reason - to evalaute the circumstances which led up to it? Was something missed COAST wise? Was the defensive corrrection well planned and how did it affect another road user?




Ah.. in the good old days - we were given time to really practise the art!

By leaving it all the the Turbo Wolfgangs test drivers in Germany and German simulating machines .. we would appear to be losing something here....

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Take with a chuckle or a grain of salt
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Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon - but driving with a smile and a COAST calm mind.