5,500 People Killed Achievement or Challenge?
| Author | B. Preston |
| Date | 01 April 1986 |
| Published date | 01 April 1986 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X8605900211 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
MRS.
B. PRESTON, B.Sc., M.Sc.
Retired University Lecturer.
5,500
PEOPLE KILLED
ACHIEVEMENT
OR
CHALLENGE?
Why do we kill over five thousand people every year on the roads of
Great Britain? We might kill many more. Despite enormous
increases in traffic, the number killed has gone down in recent
years.
If
our
attitude to road safety was similar to that of South
Africa, we might be content to kill over 19,000 people. But, equally,
we might decide not to kill as many people. There is no reason to
accept these deaths as the price
that
must be paid if we are to enjoy
the use of
motor
vehicles. We should not be complacent. In 1984
there were 318,363 people injured, so that, on average, over a life-
time, two out of every five people will be injured. This need not
happen. Legislation, particularly on drink and driving and on seat
belts, has been very effective in preventing deaths, but there are
many other things
that
could be done to reduce the number of
accidents
and/
or the number killed and injured.
Reappraising the purpose of roads
There should be a radical reappraisal of the purpose of roads. At
present the same thinking is often applied to all roads, the pre-
emptive consideration being to keep traffic moving. But, apart from
motorways, there are at least three different types of road, and each
type should be treated differently. On busy main roads, children
cannot follow the precepts of the Green Cross Code, one cannot
wait until there is no traffic near.
It
is often not safe, even for nimble
adults, to dodge across between fast moving traffic, and it can be
very dangerous for the old and infirm. On these roads it is
important to ensure areasonably fast flow of traffic, but there must
also be some provision for pedestrians to cross in safety. On less
busy minor roads, if the speed limits were rigidly enforced the roads
could be shared by pedestrians and vehicles without great danger.
Children could use the Green Cross Code on these roads. The third
type of roads comprises quiet residential roads and back streets.
There should be no difficulty in crossing these roads. Very few
adults are injured in these areas, but these are the roads on which so
many young children are injured. Wherever possible these
residential areas should be designated "safety zones" or "residential
precincts", where, as in the Dutch Woonerven, the child has priority
and it is up to the driver to go so slowly that he does not injure a
child, whatever the child may do. He must drive at a walking pace.
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April
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