Safe Speed Forums

Not a problem in Windermere... we got a real kerb!


Now imagine your path if you were driving a coachload of tourists... and you cannot return to the normal course until your rear wheels have cleared the chicane.
Also at night if intending to turn LEFT, your headlights don't light up anyone crossing the road end - and even if they see your indicator, they see you going to the right (their left) and assume it is safe to cross as you steer away from them!


http://goo.gl/maps/FmXl7
Needless to say the designer of this particular failure does not drive, he travels by bus and train, and this is just one of a number of dangerous or awkward road features he had installed!

_________________
Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

So was totally unsuitable/unqualified for the job. Would you employ a blind person to decorate for you?

_________________
My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

Something needs to be done in local authorities to stop them employing the wrong person for the job...these are usually sideways job shifts when a post becomes vacant/redundant. My friend works for an LA, he was on highway maintenance for 30 odd years and now his post has been made redundant has been "shifted" to drains....I'm sure his knowledge of drains is less than mine.

More worrying, the present head of our highways dept, told me in person some 6-7 years ago, that he had just been given that job as the present person left suddenly (because he was fed up of people questioning his dodgy work) and knew little about the job and thought it would be a temporary measure....scary,.... he obviously knows little more now than he did 7 years ago, judging by the daft schemes being implemented still.

_________________
My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

I'm often asked if Stevie Wonder cuts my hair!

_________________
Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

I've often wondered if the person designing some of the safety features & road calming i visually challenged, but Iam informed he lives in another town and had no particular knowledge of the traffic problems in this area.

_________________
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

I am sure that if a survey was done, this would be the case for the majority of LAs. I don't suppose they ever get off their office chair to ever drive the area either....again totally unsuitable for the post.

_________________
My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

On the flipside my dad always said make sure when you get your hair cut you get the barber with the worst haircut to do it, not the one with the best.

Similary getting a car nut to design road layouts is probably a silly idea.

But surely, even you can agree, that a person with no experience of driving or living in the area in question, has fewer abilities than someone with lots of driving experience and has lived in the area and driven it for a long time.

_________________
My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

Whilst I agree that local knowledge is very important there is a presupposition their, and nn much of the thread, that the road layout should be designed around the needs of the motorist. A non driver could well come up with a layout which was much safer for pedestrians, albeit at some inconvenience to motorists.

_________________
When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

It's so they can place themselves in the primary position where they will be seen by other traffic, not at the side where most drivers probably won't see them and even if they do will attempt to overtake with insufficient space.

Why don't the cyclists just adopt the "primary position" in the line of traffic like everyone else? They would not be "at the side" and be quite visible to others. Advance stop lines positively encourage cyclists to filter up the inside.

Slower vehicles will always tend to be overtaken by faster ones and hence my point about placing faster traffic at the front so minimising this potential danger. Leaving insufficient space is poor driving but would be irrelevant if no overtaking were required. If you reduce interaction then safety will probably improve.

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

I frequently do... although some drivers object vocally to that too.

Err yes, this is the main advantage of riding a narrower vehicle, to filter through and beat the traffic queues. If you don't do this then there isn't much point in riding a bicycle.

Which is not to say that it isn't incumbent on the cyclist to filter with care and the motorist to check mirrors for filtering cyclists before moving off.