--- Err, did you mean to say that Dan? That Police AREN’T obsessed with speed. Hasn’t your whole argument been trying to say they’re over-obsessed with speed???
I'm not sure I ever said that POLICE is obsessed with speed! They're just the arm of the law, not the makers (read DICTATORS) of it. I have quite a few police officer friends and I know what they're obsessed with and it ISN'T enforcing the speed limits! You, Ian and the likes are! Those who live on a staple diet of constant drivel fed from bureaucrats making a living from statistical information!
--- Right, so there you go. You can enforce the speed limit without the need for a Traffic Policeman, fantastic! They can go focus on something else. Surely you should be celebrating the tellivans?
The fact is that Traffic Police actually WANT to POLICE the roads! They won't go anywhere near a tellivan and would like them to be removed from the roads! Some of them are more dangerous and create more accidents than save! Why? I hear you ask? Because they are sighted hidden or following blind or sharp bends, so that they actually catch people speeding and generate revenue of course. When drivers see them they brake hard even if they're driving below the speed limit! Causing a chain effect behind them! I believe natural hazards have that effect on humans, not sure we NEED extra hazards on the road! If they just wanted to slow the traffic down they'd put them in the middle of the straights! Call me cynical.
--- Right, so you’re admitting that speed is the problem in this situation. All you’re complaining about here is the effectiveness of speed bumps, which is a whole different debate.
The point I WAS trying to make but you CHOSE to avoid is the fact that in spite of the fact that speed WASN'T the cause, the powers still decided to focus on THE SPEED!!! And then I went on to point how ineffective the chosen method proved to be at reducing what WASN'T the problem in the first place!
I just couldn't help noticing the fact that you very skilfully drove around the point about all the accidents being at BELOW the speed limit. Once again avoiding to SEE THE POINT: the speed wasn't the cause! And just in case you are asking the question, here's what I and many others think IS the problem: EDUCATION!!! Or rather the lack of it!
And here's why: mixing flesh with metal, as we do in this country, and loading all the blame on the DRIVER is the root cause!
And here's the solution IMHO: In some countries it is called jay-walking, in others plain ILLEGAL and it is a clear, enforced segregation IN LAW between the pedestrian areas and the carriageways! In my native country cars drive on the road and pedestrians walk on the footpaths! Cars have right of way on the road, pedestrians have right to CROSS the road ONLY in designated areas. Anywhere else they are PUNISHED if they cross. If cars don't hit them then police will (in the pocket) if they chose to chance it with the metal! As a consequence, from a very young age the kids are taught that they MUST NOT play on the roads, MUST cross ONLY in certain places AND that not doing so WILL hurt them!
That way the drivers can concentrate on driving rather than pedestrian avoidance! Yes there still is the small matter of car-on-car incidents, but at least there we can "hide" behind better, stronger cars, slow them down where is needed (yes I did write the "S" word) and continue the work on educating the driver further. I believe I gave a solution to that on a similar thread recently.
Over to you John!
Dan
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