Quote:
In 2004 the Government was busy patting itself on the back after the number of people who died in road accidents decreased by 287 people to 3,221. All this despite an increase in road traffic of two per cent that year. However, just a year later the figure has crept up once gain, nearing that of 2003 when 3,508 people lost their lives in road accidents. And the Government, response?
According to Road Safety Minister Steve Ladyman, “Britain has one of the best road safety records in the world.”
If we carry on the way we are, the road safety record of Britain will no longer be amongst the best.
An increase of 287 would appear to be statistically significant. With a standard deviation of about 58, assuming each case is an independent random event, then the increase is about five standard deviations.
It would again seem to show that the Government policy with speed cameras is just not working. Drivers and riders who are being needlessly fined and penalised for minor speed infringement have lost all respect for the whole speed camera policy, yet the Government still insists that this is an effective method of improving road safety. How much longer will they go on deluding themselves about the benefits of speed cameras and continue trying to delude us about this. Presumably they do so because they think it is a cost free method of improving road safety, but sadly the real cost is for the people being killed and injured because of their inept and simplistic attitude to road safety.