Safe Speed Forums

New DfT report on adolescent pedestrian behaviour:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/d ... 612710.pdf

On a scan of the executive summary, they seem to have missed the blindingly obvious fact that most adolescent road user crashes are because they were not paying attention.

When I first saw the title - and the fact that psychology researchers had compiled it, I started to imagine a PR based on 'if it's good enough for kids, why isn't it good enough for drivers?' But it looks like we'll all be disappointed.

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

it may be blindingly obvious to you, but (as a parent) I'd like to see facts to back up that statement. I think the unfamiliarity with busier roads is probably just as blindingly obvious.

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COAST Not just somewhere to keep a beach.

A young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law.

They go on about "safe route planning"

They are missing the peer preasure problem that it is "not cool" to take the safe route

Parkour is in, safety is out.

They have no wish or will to be model pedestrians and there is a culture of the "car driver is at fault"


The "safe route parenting"... assumes that the parent sets a role model of taking the safest route. For the last 10 or more years the goverment has been closing subways and bridges and assuming people will use crossing points with no safety campaign to back that up. so where will the parents have got thier education?

The report correctly picks up the point that road saftey is somthing that they "did at primary school" This backs up the "uncool" image of being safe.

the report states that "marginal decisions are uncorrected by feedback"

The whole report assumes that these people were trying to avoid harm. When what I see is people who run out and expect you to avoid them.
Or people who choose to walk in the road wherte there is a servicable footpath.

This report goes on about peoples use of a crossing and car speed perception. What they need to tackle is getting people to use the crossing in the first place. The buggers arejumping over three sets of railings to cross the roadrather than walk 50m more

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Speed limit sign radio interview. TV Snap Unhappy
“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code

Fair enough. I'll see what I can do.

It's not immediately easy because I read so much, and sometimes it is hard to know an authoritative source for something that I know.

The current 'Think!' advert takes the same line of course. "...wish they had given their full attention to the road."

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

anton hits the nail on the head when quoting the "road safety is something they did at primary school". I think people on here realise that road safety is not something that you "did", it is something you "do" - a continuous process really.

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COAST Not just somewhere to keep a beach.

A young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law.

I think it's the evermore pervading lack of common sense! If I'm in an unfamiliar area, I will take more care - simple!

But then I come from a generation where to possess common sense was something that was the norm. These days (poor parenting?) common sense seems to be more like 'rare' sense...

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Pecunia Prius Equitas et Salus

It is not just youngsters it is all pedestrains. Drive through any town and observe how they use light controlled crossings. To my mind the little red man means STOP the green one means WALK. Most people ignore these and will happily walk in front of a car without a second thought.

Is no one taught basic road safety anymore? At primary school we used to have the Council road safety officers come into school, this was in the 1960's, and set up roads in the playground drive a car up to a pedx and show us little kids how to cross roads safely.

consider also the litiginous society - I'm sure there are some pedestrians who take the view that if they are hit by a motorist, they will sue and get a nice fat "where there's blame, there's a claim" settlement.

Although we shouldn't get carried away by blaming pedestrians, motorists are part of the basic road safety and must be vigilant too - it takes two to have a collision after all! Motorists need to be more vigilant as they are piloting a car that is heavier, faster, and harder than soft & squishy than a human body (although that means that pedestrians need to be even more vigilant to avoid being squished ...)

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COAST Not just somewhere to keep a beach.

A young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law.