Safe Speed Forums

The public cannot understand and will not respond to sophisticated messages.
Look at the propaganda issued by the opposition:
"Speed kills"
"Speed cameras save lives"
"40mph = dead child"
Simple, effective, lies.
I'd like to see SS campaign around a list of simple, effective "truths" eg
> Most people drive safely
> Attentive drivers are safe drivers
> Speed cameras are a distraction
etc
Leadership is always about a simple message, clearly expressed and repeated constantly!

There's a lot of that going on. I'm sure we could do better.

But I've never seen Safe Speed as intending to communicate with the public. I've always believed that we don't have the resources to change public opinion directly. Instead the communications target has always been opinion formers. The press profile is intended to ensure that the opinion formers must listen. This model has worked brilliantly.

However, actual performance has exceeded expectations and I think we are proving to be effective at direct public communication. That's more of a worry than anything else because of the capacity of the public to absorb resources (especially telephone time).

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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

Especially with broadcasts like the one i heard yesterday( commented on) - IMHO the time has come for you to fight fire with fire - get some public opinion behind you to counter the ideas that the only answer to road safety is a camera - i wouldn't mind betting a lot of councillors/county councillors would jump ship if they thought that public opinion was seeing the distortions put up by the partnerships in their hunt for cash.
Even something along the lines of "a safe driver knows his speed and concentrates on the road" -

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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

One I like is, "More danger equals slower speeds".
It's almost 100% true, and its corollary, "Less danger equals faster speeds" is almost as true.
It diametrically opposes the oft-heard, but quite untrue, "Slower speeds equals safer roads".

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Only when ideology, prejudice and dogma are set aside does the truth emerge - Kepler

Probaly badly phrased as its a bit hard to put in a simple slogan - idea Pete was to try and get accross the idea that as long as speed is appropriate , and driver capable of regulating speed (within reasonable limits) more time spent looking at road is safer, and conversely the practice of having to constantly check that you are not in the "ping" speed area is a bad one.Rather loosen up on limits to let driver concentrate on road, especially if area dangerous enough to need camersa. Bit long winded the explanation of idea tho.

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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

'Watch the road not your speedo' is a simple one that could catch on.

TB - in one wat i was trying to get at - except it could (and probably would ) be twisted by the scamerati to say that we're not focussing on innappropriate speed.

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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

You can't put a limit on road saftey.

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Oct 11 Birmingham Half Marathon. I am running for the British Heart Foundation.
http://www.justgiving.com/Rob-Taylor

"More perceived danger equals slower speeds".

Not many of us are good motorists. Just look at all the poor discipline (drifting lanes, not signalling) that goes on. And it's the established norm.

It's a shame that the general public only seems to work in 'slogans' and 'sound bites'. Maybe this is what actually encourages people not to think properly about the situations they are faced with and the situations they are using the road in.

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It's not what you ride... it's how you ride it.