crashes are no “accidents”

Not all crashes are “accidents”. Crimes are not “accidents”. It’s not an “accident” when a person makes a decision to drive drunk, distracted, or in a negligent manner. Stop giving criminals a pass by calling it an “accident”.

An “accident” is, by definition, unintentional. We accidentally drop dinner plates, or send e-mails before we’re done writing them. The word also suggests something of the unforeseen — an event that couldn’t have been anticipated, for which no one can be blamed.

That second connotation is what irks transportation advocates who want to change how we talk about traffic collisions. When one vehicle careens into another or rounds a corner into a pedestrian — call it a “crash,” they say, not an “accident.”

http://droptheaword.blogspot.com/

dangers facing cyclists

We need to tackle the real dangers facing cyclists on the roads

(IrishTimes 10.8.)

“Too little is done to reduce the hazards posed by cars to vulnerable road users”

The most effective interventions involve physically removing the hazard, (such as the hazard of heavy goods vehicles from Dublin city centre) while the least effective leave the hazard untouched and concentrate on providing personal protective equipment to the more vulnerable.

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Further, the hazardous nature of motor vehicles can be reduced substantially by dropping maximum permitted speeds from 50 to 30kph

walking as a ‘miracle cure’ for public health.

Walking Steps Back Onto the Agenda – Hoorah!

Chief Executive of NHS England described walking as a ‘miracle cure’ for public health.

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