Safe Speed Forums

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/7135541.stm

Young targeted in speed campaign

A new all-Wales campaign to educate young people about the dangers of driving too fast is being launched.

The Deadly Mates campaign will see traffic officers stopping young drivers and handing out promotional material.

One in four car drivers killed or seriously injured in crashes in Wales is under 25, say police.

The most dangerous drivers are young men with passengers because they drive for the thrill of it and to "show off", said a road safety scheme spokesman.

Gwent Police will run the two-week campaign for the three other forces in Wales and the Mid and South Wales Safety Camera Partnership.

The campaign has a website and dedicated police road patrols will target young drivers.

It will also run alongside the all-Wales anti-drink drive campaign which began on 3 December.

Insp Lee Ford of Gwent Police's Roads Policing Unit said young drivers had more accidents than anyone else and the aim was to make them think of the consequences of their actions.

"They are responsible for around one in five of all the accidents where someone is killed or seriously injured.

'Thrill of it'

"There appears to be a very cavalier attitude to safety amongst some young drivers where they do not value or understand good driving skills. "

Jim Moore of the Mid and South Wales Safety Camera Partnership said the most dangerous drivers were most likely to be new, with little or no experience.

"Their friends put pressure on them to take risks at the wheel for a laugh or they race other cars which is stupid and really dangerous," said Mr Moore.

"Making sharp risky driving moves at speed or driving too close behind other cars is really dangerous as they won't be able to brake in time if, for example, a child runs into the road," he said.

"The most dangerous people behind the wheel are young men with passengers - because they drive faster for the thrill of it and to show off."

***

The campaign website is: http://www.deadlymates.co.uk

It's seriously crap, actually, in my estimation. Our road safety authorities are stuck in a rut and fresh out of ideas. They are blinded by their own dogma.

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

I think their basic point is probably correct. Lots of young men DO drive too fast. I reckon most of us have done the same at some point in the past...

The problem is, as you know, "too fast" has nothing whatsoever to do with speed limits but that is all the Mid and South Wales Safety Camera Partnership are concerned about.

Safe Speed issued the following PR at 12:01pm this afternoon:

PR576: Deadly mates: running on empty and out of ideas

news: for immediate release

The 'Deadly Mates' campaign launched in Wales today indicates that British road
safety is running on empty and out of ideas says the Safe Speed road safety
campaign. If it was a one off we would have laughed at its weakness and
ineptitude - but that matter is serious and all too typical of road safety in
this camera infested country.

The advice offered to young drivers doesn't tell them the things that they
really need to know. Safe Speed has provided a short list of key advice:

Safe Speed's advice to young drivers:

A DRIVING LICENCE IS JUST THE FIRST RUNG ON THE DRIVING LADDER

Handling a car is easy; many young drivers become quite skilled at it quite
quickly. But those skills aren't the skills that keep you safe. Reading the
road, recognising and anticipating danger, and developing good judgement are
the skills you really need and they literally take years to develop.


GOOD DRIVING IS HARDER THAN IT LOOKS; THERE'S NO SHAME IN BEING INEXPERIENCED

Good driving is far harder than it looks - never make the mistake of assuming
that it's easy, and remember that there's no shame in being inexperienced.
Every good driver was inexperienced once.


LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES.

Near misses and incidents are far more frequent than crashes - but are caused
by
the exact same driver errors. If you learn from your near misses and incidents
you learn to avoid crashes. Near misses and crashes are therefore a key
learning opportunity. Incidents include:

- anything that involves being surprised by another road user
- emergency braking
- swerving
- anything that involves being surprised by the road
- any loss of control


YOU NEED TO AVOID DRIVING TOO FAST - BUT THE SPEED LIMIT DOES NOT TELL YOU WHAT
TOO FAST IS.

One of the essential driver skills is to adjust your speed to suit the
conditions. This is a skill that continues to develop long after you have
passed your test. You must always be able to stop comfortably, on your own side
of the road, within the distance that you know to be clear. When you are young
and inexperienced you will get it wrong quite frequently and it makes sense to
err on the side of caution. Slowing down on a completely clear road doesn't
help anyone, but slowing down when danger threatens keeps everyone safe. Slow
down in response to hazards. Learn when to hold back and when to go.


DRIVING IS A SERIOUS PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

When you drive you are responsible for your safety, for the safety of those
around you and for the safety of your passengers. Take this responsibility
seriously - it is literally a matter of life and death.


DRIVING WELL IS EXTREMELY REWARDING

Gradually learn to 'master' the road and the traffic as well as your car. With
ten years of experience driving can be extremely rewarding. Developing your
skills can be extremely rewarding.


KEY SKILLS:

- managing distraction
- observation
- anticipation
- hazard recognition
- speed control to suit the conditions
- good judgement


Paul Smith, founder of SafeSpeed.org.uk, said: "After 15 years of speed
cameras, British road safety is running on empty and out of ideas. The advice
young drivers are getting is grossly inadequate and they are being badly let
down. We're not warning them what to expect or teaching them how to learn
from their mistakes."

"The advice on the 'Deadly Mates' web site is well intentioned but falls a
million miles short of the mark. It's no surprise to us at the Safe Speed road
safety campaign that crashes involving young drivers are increasing when young
driver numbers are falling. Official messages set the wrong safety targets and
ignore the key information that young drivers need to stay safe."

"Things are so bad that I expect the way is open for a crash involved young
driver to sue the authorities for failing in their duty to provide adequate
training and advice."

<ends>

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

I like your "Driving well is extremely rewarding" point. Unfortunately, this is exactly what the Governmnet don't want people to hear. Driving is always to be discouraged as a tedious pointless activity leading to fines, imprisonment, global catastrophe ...

It's like saying taking "drugs is extremely rewarding". It must be, lots of people do it and can't stop.

_________________
Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

Now what self-respecting driver can't get the 5 stars in the game

I should also point out that the signage before the camera is inadequate, so any penalties issued there are invalid
Also, you can amber jump the light

The camera flashed me despite averaging about 5mph through it. Also, that must be the fastest accelerating car in world history

YES, just got 5 stars, despite getting to 80mph at one point. I am ALREADY safe and responsible on the road apparently. Yay!!

Pah, I reached 99mph (that's the max possible speed) and put down plenty of skid marks! I did it in 51 sec without penalty.

I managed it one-handed with a wriggly 10 week-old cradled in the other hand demanding at least half my attention...



And if that doesn't get the NIP thrown out, complaining about them using a Gatso in forward-facing mode ought to do the job...

_________________
Chris

And the traffic lights going red > amber? That's not a prescribed sign.

I don't think they had a black backing board either.

_________________
Andrew.

I may have been too busy concentrating on negotiating the tricky, wiggling course, but I didn't see a speed limit sign anywhere! What speed were we supposed to go through the GATSO below? I went through at ~5mph, because I thought it might earn me extra score, and as I accelerated away (well below 20mph) it still flashed me!

Ah the joys of teaching impressionable, inexperienced young people how to drive correctly. Well done Deadly Mates

There is a single 30 limit sign on the right of the road in the frame prior to the one with the camera. It is viewed from above so it appears squished, hence it is easy to miss. Make sure your instantaneous speed does not exceed 30 while you are on the second half of the markings - that's tricky to do considering the binary throttle and overly harsh engine braking of the car.

Good thing I was looking out for hazards ahead rather than searching the roadside for non-compliant speed-limit signage eh!?