UKs most dangerous roads
in [UK Drivers]
|
Prev: Flying car
Next: One in 10 UK roads are 'high risk'
From: Ret. on 30 Jun 2010 04:01 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/10454356.stm Half of all fatal road crashes occur on one-tenth of Britain's roads, according to charity the Road Safety Foundation. Its report, covering 28,000 miles of A-roads and motorways, says Scotland has the highest risk highways, followed by parts of northern England. It identified the A537 between Macclesfield, Cheshire, and Buxton, Derbyshire, as the most dangerous road. The charity wants government spending to be targeted at improving safety on the most dangerous roads. Its report, entitled Saving Lives for Less, suggests the high cost of emergency services and hospitals could be avoided by spending small sums in accident blackspots. ------- I used to police the A537 between Macclesfield and the Cat 'n Fiddle pub where the border with Derbyshire begins. The road is very twisty - but perfectly safe if driven along sensibly. The problem is that it's a magnet for bikers who are not out for a scenic drive, but rather to see just how fast they can negotiate the road. Inevitably a large number of them find to their cost that they can *not* safely negotiate the road at high speed and they come to grief: In June 2008 the road was yet again named as the most dangerous road in Britain by the Road Safety Foundation. This single-carriageway route was the location for 21 fatal and serious crashes, and was rated in the EuroRAP report as Black, the highest risk rating. This is in spite of a number of countermeasures installed by the road authority, including motorcycle-friendly barriers. The Foundation attributes this high number of accidents to road-user behaviour; indeed, when motorcycle-related collisions are removed from the results the road becomes one of the safest in the country. (So it is simply down to idiot boy-racer bikers...) Cheshire County Council also point the finger at motorcyclists' behaviour: "The fact is that it's an attractive road to motorcyclists - they see it as a challenge to ride with its hairpin bends, limited views, downhill descent and uphill ascent. "The thing that angers us most is not the fact that it's dangerous, but that there are a group of people on that road who knowingly push the boundaries. "We have tried to get the message across, that it is the emergency services that have to pick these people up off the road and have the duty of telling their families that they have killed themselves." I just wonder why the taxpayer should have to fork out a lot of money to protect idiot bikers from themselves. It's not the road - it's them. -- Kev
From: Chris Bartram on 30 Jun 2010 06:14 On 30/06/2010 09:01, Ret. wrote: > The problem is that it's a magnet for bikers who are not out for a > scenic drive, but rather to see just how fast they can negotiate the road. > Inevitably a large number of them find to their cost that they can *not* > safely negotiate the road at high speed and they come to grief: > [snip] > > (So it is simply down to idiot boy-racer bikers...) > Be fair, it's also car drivers running out of talent and/or road, not just bikes.
From: Ret. on 30 Jun 2010 07:40 Chris Bartram wrote: > On 30/06/2010 09:01, Ret. wrote: > >> The problem is that it's a magnet for bikers who are not out for a >> scenic drive, but rather to see just how fast they can negotiate the >> road. > > >> Inevitably a large number of them find to their cost that they can >> *not* safely negotiate the road at high speed and they come to grief: >> > > [snip] > >> >> (So it is simply down to idiot boy-racer bikers...) >> > Be fair, it's also car drivers running out of talent and/or road, not > just bikes. You may have missed: "The Foundation attributes this high number of accidents to road-user behaviour; indeed, when motorcycle-related collisions are removed from the results the road becomes one of the safest in the country." So while it is certainly not unknown for car drivers to run out of road on this stretch - it is, in the main, the bikers who are killing themselves. I note from a most recent article that the authorities are installing average speed cameras that will cover the entire length of road. This may help to keep speeds down. -- Kev
From: Adrian on 30 Jun 2010 08:03 "mileburner" <mileburner(a)btinternet.com> gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying: >>> I note from a most recent article that the authorities are installing >>> average speed cameras that will cover the entire length of road. This >>> may help to keep speeds down. >> That's nice, dear. >> >> Will it do anything to reduce inattention and fuckwittery? > Possibly not Thank you. > but speed reduction tends to reduce the severity of any collision Which I'd rather they avoided completely in the first place. > and allows more time for the said inattentive fuckwit to notice what is > happening and perhaps avoid the incident. If they were paying attention in the first place, they wouldn't need extra time to notice what's happening.
From: mileburner on 30 Jun 2010 08:20
"Adrian" <toomany2cvs(a)gmail.com> wrote in message news:890q4fFjm0U54(a)mid.individual.net... > "mileburner" <mileburner(a)btinternet.com> gurgled happily, sounding much > like they were saying: > >>>> I note from a most recent article that the authorities are installing >>>> average speed cameras that will cover the entire length of road. This >>>> may help to keep speeds down. > >>> That's nice, dear. >>> >>> Will it do anything to reduce inattention and fuckwittery? > >> Possibly not > > Thank you. > >> but speed reduction tends to reduce the severity of any collision > > Which I'd rather they avoided completely in the first place. > >> and allows more time for the said inattentive fuckwit to notice what is >> happening and perhaps avoid the incident. > > If they were paying attention in the first place, they wouldn't need > extra time to notice what's happening. While I agree with your points, there seems to me to be only two possible solutions. [1] Remove the fuckwits from the road. (e.g. regular testing, education or just take their licences away). [2] Legislate and control them so they are less likely to cause incidents. (e.g. speed limits, traffic calming, speed cameras). |