Safe Speed Forums

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/8150958.stm

Can we now expect to hear a press release from road safety "charity" BRAKE calling for drivers to use more care and attention when reversing on driveways?

I doubt it, yet these incidents are all too common. A young child was killed in Cumbria in similar circumstances in the last 12 months or so.

And why is this a tragic "accident"? I thought we didn't have "accidents" any more, just collisions?

Good job the Mercedes was not anywhere near the speed limit, or BRAKE would have been all over the press on this like a rash, calling for the speed limit to be reduced to protect other road users!

Road safety is a complex mechanism of interactions between all road users, yet the government's main thrust is aimed at vehicle drivers, and in particular speed.
Speed cameras earn the government money, while road policing units COST money to run, and are being reduced all over the country at a time when car ownership is increasing, and road use standards falling!

Meanwhile some pedestrians are loose on the roads - with no tax or insurance to worry about, do not need an MOT, and do not have to pass a test, or read the Highway Code, and yet they rarely get prosecuted for disobeying the laws of the road when they break them!

It is about time the government got it's road safety head out of the sand!

My condolences go out to the family of the dead woman, who indeed was the victim of a tragic accident - as are many other victims on our roads each year.

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

Sadly - way too many accidents occur in this way.


I wish folk would use mirrors and check gears when they set off from own driveways.

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Take with a chuckle or a grain of salt
Drive without COAST and it's all your own fault!

A SMILE is a curve that sets everything straight (P Diller).

A Smiley Per post
FINES USfor our COAST!

Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon - but driving with a smile and a COAST calm mind.

Could that be because there are very few "laws of the road" which apply to pedestrians? If they did read the HC they would find that there are only four situations where they could be prosecuted - being on a motorway; holding onto a moving vehicle: loitering on a pedestrian crossing; ignoring the red light on a railway crossing.

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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

Firstly DCB, you wrongly quoted In Gear!

However, in Cumbria the M6 has a disproportionate number of fatalities involving PEDESTRIANS!

As far as I am aware, nobody has been prosecuted.

QED - drivers get prosecuted for all manner of offences, while pedestrians do not - despite the dangers they present to themselves, and others.

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

My apologies. The lack of profuse smilies should have alerted me.


That does surprise as most of the M6 in Cumbria is distant from centres of population. Or is it people getting out of cars to admire the view who get killed?


I don't think you can prosecute a dead pedestrian .


Pedestrians do not get prosecuted for all manner of offences because there aren't all manner of offences that they can commit.

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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

The pedestrian incidents are varied.
In one, a couple had a row and pulled up on the hard shoulder. The man then got out and tried to cross to the opposite carriageway to return home.
However, the others are not so clear cut.

I rather suspect having SEEN pedestrians on the M6, that they are local people who think that because the M6 here is quieter, and appears less patrolled, that it is OK to use it as a short cut.

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

Do you report them to the police when you see them?

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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

Do you report them to the police when you see them?

Incidentally: where exactly does a motorway begin/end for the purpose of this law?

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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

I report them if I see them as soon as is possible... the same with any dangerous practice as long as there is a reasonable chance the perpetrators will be caught.

I once reported a driver who on my way to work, appeared to be either using a phone, or lighting a cigarette, and dropped something into the passenger footwell. He then proceeded to lean down and grope around for the lost item, taking his eyes off the road ahead for some time, and nearly going off the road. The rest of his driving was sloppy too.

The motorway regulations start as soon as you see the sign - which states that the motorway starts "here".
Effectively this means the top of the slip road - it is illegal to stop and pick up a hitch hiker if they are stood on the slip road.

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

I propose a speed limit of 4mph for all cars reversing out of their driveways, to be enforceable by a nationwide system of 'safety' cameras.

I was actually thinking about someone walking across fields at right angles to the motorway. Where does the road start for him?

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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

I'd guess the fence, once you cross onto the land

Good point actually. The answer should be in the legal document/s which create a motorway. I would guess it is the entire paved area, but that is only using common sense which the law doesn't have much of.

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Andrew.

Was he backing out of, or backing in to, his driveway?
I ask because I know way too many people who head into their driveways, which means they'll back out. More often than not, when someone backs out of their driveway, first thing in the morning, they're either groggy, or hungry, or in a rush, or jonesing for coffee, or not looking forward to the rest of the day (no pun intended) ...
I know of no car that was designed with good rearward visibility as a goal. As side impact safety standards become more stringent, all around visibility continues to get worse, but rearward visibility has been getting much worse, at a faster rate. No wonder rear cameras are more and more popular.

The rest of the world is usually more dangerous than my driveway; that's why no one is allowed to drive backwards in the rest of the world, except to park, or when moving forward is impossible, and usually followed either by continuing forward, or stopping.

I'd rather back into my driveway and head out into the world, than head into my driveway and back into the world. Maybe I'm lucky I learned it young?

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The Rules for ALL ROAD USERS:
1) No one gets hurt
2) Nothing gets hit, except to protect others; see Rule#1
3) The Laws of Physics are invincible and immutable - so-called 'laws' of men are not
4) You are always immediately and ultimately responsible for your safety first, then proximately responsible for everyone's
Do not let other road users' mistakes become yours, nor yours become others
5) The rest, including laws of the land, is thoughtful observation, prescience, etiquette, decorum, and cooperation

In the UK we all learn that young; it is Highway Code 203. Unfortunately, in heavy traffic it is difficult to stop and reverse into a drive. You stop in the appropriate position to start the manoeuvre only to find that there is a queue of traffic starting with the idiot four inches behind yo

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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

Not entirely true. In America the driving age is 16; in Britain it is 17. In America insurance is optional whereas in Britain it is compulsary which causes people to have to wait until they have had their license atleast a year to get affordable insurance. Add the fact that the whole process of obtaining a license in Britain costs about £1000 as opposed to America were one can go through the whole process for $100. This leads to the British public generally learning these skills at a later age.

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Currently undergoing training with the I.A.M.

I love it when they get agitated that you had the temerity to stop in front of them, like they never have to park.

pillocks, they are. What do they want me to do, have a Chinnock hovering over head to air lift me on to my drive? I can see the headlines now, "House Holder Reverses On To Own Drive, SHOCKER!"

Most states allow licensing by the age of 16. A few allow licensing by 15, depending on the applicant's circumstances (usually regarding employment).Beyond a certain population density, insurance becomes compulsory; in those areas, all drivers must be insured against hurting other people and property, but insuring yourself and your vehicle is not required (because the other person should be insured against hurting you or damaging your car).
Prices vary - drastically - by state, then by driving record and age.Licensing oneself doesn't cost enough, whether in terms of time, energy, or money (Amerikans don't like to pay a lot for anything). Registering one's vehicle isn't something a recent high school grad does, the vehicle is usually still registered in a parent's name. The parent's insurance premium typically goes up anywhere from 66% to 100%, depending on the parent's credit rating, the ex-student's grades, and whether or not they are going to college.

_________________
The Rules for ALL ROAD USERS:
1) No one gets hurt
2) Nothing gets hit, except to protect others; see Rule#1
3) The Laws of Physics are invincible and immutable - so-called 'laws' of men are not
4) You are always immediately and ultimately responsible for your safety first, then proximately responsible for everyone's
Do not let other road users' mistakes become yours, nor yours become others
5) The rest, including laws of the land, is thoughtful observation, prescience, etiquette, decorum, and cooperation