Good Data but no plan
From "Comment of the Draft Road Safety Strategy (RSS)"
Go to the project
I commend the research and data driven approach , which is clearly thorough and encouraging as a citizen.
However there is a large discrepancy between the research and the implementation. With this in mind I refer to section 6.
One of the greatest contibutors to road fatalities (pedestrians) is barely addressed.
6.1.1 refers to safer vehicles. This is a great principle in theory. But one must wonder how many people on our roads could even begin to define what constitutes a safe vehicle. I firmly believe that the majority of road users could not understand or take any action to make their vehicles safer. We simply do not have this culture as a society.
6.1.2 refers to safer people but makes no practical suggestions. With most accidents occuring at night or early mornings and alcohol often being involved one must wonder if this is not a broader societal issue and not a traffic issue.
6.1.3 refers to contolling speed. Again we simply dont have a culture of following rules and the traffic department is woefully underpowered to deal with this.
6.1.4 refers to safer roads. Roads are only as safe as the people who use them. Daily we see people crossing highways on foot. One must wonder how poor a persons perception of danger is to do something like that.
I propose adding a basic vehicle specification to all licenses - for example what is a safe following distance at certain speeds , how often should a suspension be checked , how often should brakes be serviced , how often should a vehicles oil be changed - I beleive driving is a privilege that requires a high level of responsibility and we simply do not haqve responsible drivers.
Secondly pedestrians crossing or using roads when intoxicated should face harsh penalties with zero tolerance. They create the dangerous situations , they should face the consequences.
We actually need to go deeper on a societal level and create a culture of compliance and consideration , not fear based enforcement. We instead need to be asking questions like ' why do people disobey rules'. Take Germany for example. They are known for being rule compliant and orderly. Why is that so?
