Originally Posted by
MilesR
Yes, but my point was that paying attention to one's driving at all is better than not paying attention. Enforcing speed limits by any means might provide a monetary incentive for people to avoid using their mobile telephones while driving, if doing so increases the chance of them creeping. If it fails as an incentive for law-breakers, there is reason to believe that it would also not provide sufficient incentive to distract conscientious drivers from the road and their vehicle.
If people use mobile phones while driving they are unlikely to have considered possible associated dangers like creeping as a problem. They are doing something potentially dangerous already which suggests they are not really thinking all that much about any safety or potential fines.
Originally Posted by
MilesR
The results suggest that reducing speeds would result in a further reduction by 25-30%.
The claims make no mention of improved vehicle safety. There is no further. The authorities would have us believe it is all about speed reductions.
Originally Posted by
MilesR
The safer design of cars might balance out the increased risk from increased speed, but if both speed reductions and car design are considered, a cumulative effect could result, reducing the overall risk, instead of keeping it roughly stable.
Well let’s make the speed limit walking pace then. At what point do you set the limit? How is it derived? Any speed is dangerous. Driving is dangerous.
Originally Posted by
MilesR
No. Both studies only considered one question. In one case it was the correlation between speed and accident rate, and in the other it was the effect of car design on safety. The results are not weighted. They are simply restricted to answering the question posed. Does higher travelling speed correlate with higher accident risk? Yes, it does. Do more safely designed vehicles reduce occupant injury? Yes, they do. They are not weighted or biased. They only report the influence of the particular factors that they set out to measure.
But if we are making informed decisions about what are the best methods of increasing road safety while still making it possible to commute effectively we should be using tests that include all reasonable information. Not information restricted to delivering a desired result to support a policy the authorities wish to implement.
"A string is approximately nine long."
Egg Nogg 02-04-2005, 05:07 AM