Toms View of the World

To the motorists of Cardiff (and elsewhere).  Please remember these points…

• Cyclists cannot stop instantly.
• WE ARE NOT TELEPATHIC - use your indicators!

When you’ve done something stupid (like a 180 at a mini-roundabout, outside a school, without signalling), and a cyclist has had to take evasive action to avoid a crash, don’t look at the cyclist with an expression that seems to say “what are you doing?”

Remember, you’re nice and safe in a steel shell.  Cyclists aren’t.  If we collide, the chances are that you’ll barely feel it, and I’ll be dead.

As the UK authorities like to say to drivers “THINK!”

Another story about another truck getting stuck somewhere it shouldn’t have been that tries to blame the SatNav rather than the driver.

The SatNav may have advised the driver to go up a lane clearly signposted as “unsuitable for heavy goods vehicles” - but it was the driver that decided to ignore the roadsign and go with the satnav - which was no doubt designed for use in a car, rather than being a unit set up for a large vehicle. The driver is ultimately responsible for observing road signs and conditions, he clearly should not have driven up a road which was signposted as being unsuitable.

I think this is just another example of how bad the general driving standards in the UK are. The satnav is there to help you, if it suggests something that is clearly stupid, (i..e taking a narrow country lane in a 40ft artic, or going up a recently redesignated one-way street) IGNORE IT. The driver is responsible for following the roadsigns and the laws - not the SatNav.

This week, it’s BRAKE’s annual Road Safety week - this year focussing on the safety of children, both on foot and on bikes.

Now, a lot of this is about education, not only for the children, but for their parents so that the kids are properly equipped when they are outside.  My suggestions for this that parents must ensure before their kids are allowed out on bikes…

• Make sure you know where they’re going, and why
• Make sure they’re wearing suitable, light coloured, reflective clothing.
• If they are likely to be out on their bikes once the sun goes down, make sure they’ve got lights, and explain to them that the lights are there to help other road users see them, as well as to help them see where they’re going.
• Make sure they have  read the highway code, so that they know which side of the road they should be on, and how to signal their intentions to other traffic.

Now, to people driving larger vehicles - simply be aware of kids, be aware that most children have no road-sense whatsoever and are likely to be riding on the wrong side of the road, at night, wearing black, with no lights.  They will also make sudden changes in direction without looking or signalling.

See the Pledge for Drivers for other suggestions for ways to improve your driving skills

A bit of overly sensational reporting from the BBC - a woman who happened to be using SatNav, uses the incorrect procedure for negotiating an unmanned level crossing (see highway code rules 217 and 269), and has her car crushed by a train.

Fortunately, she wasn’t in it.

The SatNav had nothing to do with it - if she’d used the crossing in the correct manner, she’d have been fine.

Another argument for refresher driving courses and tests being compulsory, especially for less common situations (there can’t be that many user-operated level crossings left)…

Brake is the UK’s road safety charity - they’re currently campaigning for things that I think are important, including lower speed limits in residential areas and increasing the number of police looking for bad drivers on the roads.

I’ve signed up to their Pledge to drive safely with the twelve item pledge list.

* Belt Up - front and back and ensure children are correctly restrained
* Slow Up - abide by limits and only overtake if totally safe
* Wake Up - never drive tired and take breaks every two hours on long journeys
* Sober Up - ‘just say no’ to alcohol and drugs if driving
* Look Up - look out for people on bikes, horses and foot
* Wise Up - if it’s night, bright, or bad weather, go slower
* Buck Up - calm yourself before driving if stressed, angry or excited
* Move Up - adjust head restraints so the top is no lower than the top of your head to help prevent whiplash
* Sharpen Up - wear glasses or lenses if you need them
* Shut Up - switch your phone to voicemail
* Back Up - from the vehicle in front - it’s your braking space in a crisis
* Check Up - check brakes, tyres, lights mirrors and windows

There are 2 more lines which I think BRAKE should add:
* Light Up - Use your lights and indicators appropriately - turning off lights that aren’t appropriate too (like front-facing fog lights)
* Line Up - Be in the correct lane for the road, conditions, and the manoeuvre you’re planning to make.

As the UK governments online petition system has been making headlines, I’ve had a look to see if there are any on there which should be brought to your attention… here’s a few that I feel should be receiving a lot more publicity:

• Make it an endorseable offence to sit in the middle lane of a motorway for no reason
• Create a Road Safety Information Campaign to improve driving standards
• increase the number of traffic police and ensure that they effectively enforce the dangerous driving laws.
• Stop the sale of Christmas Stock untill 1st December

I’m not highlighting the ones which call for the PM to do stupid things, like juggle ice-cream (yes, that’s in there) - but the above are all serious issues affecting people in the UK on a day-to-day basis (or at least in the case of the last one, on a day to day basis for 6 months of the year)

This is a great idea - but doesn’t go far enough - such driving assessments should be made compulsory.

Cars have to be checked that they are up to the required standards for use on British roads every year (once they reach 3 years old), so why not have a similar assessment for drivers - say every 5 years, every driver has to have certain aspects of their driving assessed - most importantly, their eyesight, and their ability to perform simple motoring manoeuvres without endangering other people - you know, things like roundabouts, traffic lights, using indicators, correct motorway lane discipline, using mobile phones, and so on…