Safe Speed Forums

http://info.u-k-i.com/xxx/press.nsf/web ... ry=current

Motorists highlight their pre-election concerns
29 March 2005

British motorists have delivered a clear message to politicians on the issues that would influence their voting in any forthcoming general election.

According to a survey of motorists people carried out for Green Flag Motoring Assistance, reducing drink- and drug-driving, tackling uninsured drivers and car crime were the issues that the parties need to address in pre-election campaigning. Completing a top five were reducing road deaths and injuries and maintaining the standard of roads.

In a wide-ranging survey by the breakdown and recovery provider, motorists were asked to score the key issues out of ten.

Surprisingly, the cost of fuel and traffic congestion were given a lower priority by motorists than safety concerns such as reducing casualties on the roads and eliminating use of hand-held mobile phones behind the wheel. Ranked even lSurvey findings released today highlight the key issues for British motorists and send a clear message to parties as they enter the pre-election campaigning period.ower were greater regulation of private wheel clampers, improving driver training standards and raising penalties for motoring offences.

Commenting on the results, Green Flag spokesperson Melanie Denny said: "The scoring for key issues such as drink- and drug-driving and road safety suggest that drivers are concerned about broader social issues and the welfare of other road users, although they remain concerned about issues such as car crime and the state of our roads.

"With around 30 million* UK motorists and more than 70 per cent of households having access to at least one car, the parties cannot afford to ignore motorists' views on the issues that concern them."

Green Flag commissioned YouGov to gauge motorist's feelings and influences. Drivers were asked to rate key issues out of ten. Their responses are revealed in the following list.

Rating

Issue
Highest score
Reducing drink/drug driving
2nd
Reducing the number of uninsured drivers
3rd
Reducing car crime
4th
Reducing road casualties/fatalities
5th
Improving the maintenance of our roads
6th
Reducing congestion
7th
Protecting the environment
8th
Improving public transport services
9th
Eliminating hand-held mobile phone use
10th
Reducing fuel costs
11th
Regulation of private wheel clampers
12th
Improving driver training standards
13th
Increasing penalties for motoring offences
Lowest score
Reducing speeding

Other findings in the survey

Cost of motoring too high and congestion charging rejected

On fuel prices, nine out of ten motorists said the current prices were too high. Congestion charging, rejected recently in Edinburgh, was given similar treatment in the survey with more than half of those questioned (54 per cent) against the idea.

Mixed message on speed cameras, roads 'more dangerous'

The survey revealed a mixed view on the use of speed cameras with more than two-thirds (69 per cent) calling speed cameras as a 'revenue generating exercise' while just over a quarter (26 per cent) said they were essential to road safety.

Three-quarters of people questioned supported a reduction in speed limits to 20mph around schools and despite high-profile public education campaigns, 41 per cent felt that the roads in their area were more dangerous now than five years ago. Only 14% said they felt that their local roads were now safer.

Public transport considered 'poor' by more than a third of motorists

The quality of their public transport did not provide an incentive for motorists to leave their cars at home. Over a third (38 per cent) polled felt that their public transport services could be described as poor with only 17 per cent feeling positive about the quality of buses and trains in their area.

Melanie Denny added: "There are 30 million motorists in the UK and nearly three-quarters of households have access to a car, so it's clear that politicians need to take on board the views and concerns of this influential group of voters."


* Notes to editors

The research was conducted March 11-14, 2005. YouGov interviewed a sample of 2002 adults representative of the population of Great Britain. The survey was carried out online.

* Regional statistics are available from the press office.
* Contact the press office for interviews
* Green Flag Motoring Assistance provides roadside rescue and recovery to almost 5m customers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
* There are 26.4m privately owned vehicles in the UK (source SMMT/Mintel). 73% of households have regular use of at least one car (source: General Household Survey and Family Expenditure Survey, Office for National Statistics; National Travel Survey, Department for Transport; Continuous Household Survey, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency).

Press calls
For further information contact Nigel Charlesworth or Melanie Denny at Green Flag on 0113 399 1427/1387 (out of hours 07711 964 615).

Thanks for posting that. It enabled Safe Speed to issue the following PR at 03:09 this morning:

PR181: Speed cameras key election issue says Safe Speed

NEWS: for immediate release

Survey results published today by Green Flag Motoring Assistance show
clearly the gulf between motorists' concerns and government policy.
'Reducing speeding' is bottom of the motorists' priority list yet top
of the government's list.

Motorists' top concern was drunk and drugged driving (102,000
prosecutions) while speeding was rated rock bottom 14th out of 14
(1.65million prosecutions). Motorists and the government clearly put
speeding at opposite ends of the importance scale.

Speed camera mania is expected to persecute more than 3 million
motorists in 2005, yet while this policy runs wildly out of control
road deaths are actually increasing. Safe Speed says this is policy
failure on a massive scale.

Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed road safety campaign
(www.safespeed.org.uk), said: "The Conservatives have recognised the
huge strength of feeling and the value of the motorists' vote and have
pledged to review speed cameras and scrap the greedy speed camera
partnerships. Any party that fails to follow suit will be extremely
brave or foolhardy. With 32 million licence holders, the speed camera
issue could easily swing the forthcoming election."

"The thing about speeding", explains Smith, "is that the vast majority
of motorists know full well that it's only a small part of a decent
road safety policy. We expect more from our governments in terms of
critical and accurate thinking. We're tired of the spin used to prop
up a failed policy. And we're tired of being distracted from important
driving tasks looking out for the next infernal speed camera."

"Motorists' grumbles about speed camera policy have become a roar. You
simply cannot go into a public house without overhearing a heated
conversation about speed cameras." said Smith, "The political parties
would do well to listen to what people are saying. Motorists have had
far more than enough. They will speak at the ballot box."

<ends>

Green Flag survey results PR:
http://info.u-k-i.com/xxx/press.nsf/web ... ry=current

Latest Home Office figures for motoring offences:
(2002 data, England and Wales)
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/motor1.html
(Figures quoted from table B)

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

This article is more to do with a bit of electioneering on crime figures, but the words on massaging stats smell a bit - like those in glass houses -
their words about using stats ?? - leave you to make up your own mind.

http://www.express.co.uk/story.html?sto ... 2018802047

some quotes from it -

Richard Brunstrom, Chief Constable of North Wales, condemned the tactics
in a statement to Channel 4 News.
"This misleading advert quite improperly seeks to stir up fear of rising crime
when it is a well established fact that crime has been falling for years,
both locally and nationally," he said.
Stuck this in elswhere , but the tories seem to smell motoring votes -
http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?de ... _id=120391
Several promises

And in a second statement the Association of Chief Police Officers said:
"If we wanted to increase fear of crime the select use of statistics can help in doing that."


We feel it is important that all crime statistics, which forces publish regularly,
should be put into context and communicated in a responsible way to the public."

The Times Election 2005 supplement, April 6.




BURNING ISSUES

Speed cameras will be one of the few transport issues to be raised in the campaign. The Conservatives have promised a review of all 6000 cameras and have said they will remove any which have failed to reduce road casualties. The Tories also offered to raise the motorway speed limit to 80mph, ban councils from installing more road humps and accelerate the road building programme.
The Lib Dems have promised to block the construction of new runways at Stansted and Heathrow

_________________
Anyone who tells you that nothing is impossible has never bathed in a saucer of water.