Road Safety Smokescreen

There have been thirty-one road deaths on Merseyside in the first six months of this year. Meanwhile, Merseyside police say they ignore thousands of speeding motorists who break the law, and they have set cameras to let off drivers because they can’t cope with the paperwork.
Steve Moss argues that we don’t have to accept the inevitability of our streets becoming more dangerous with every passing year.

One of the biggest threats to the health of people on Merseyside must surely be the deaths and injuries that occur daily on our roads. In the first six months of 2005, 31 people have died on our region's roads. This represents a 20% rise on last year's figures, and whilst national casualties for 2004 showed a slight drop, they still average out at nine preventable deaths every day. The reduction is principally the result of improved safety for those inside the cars, whilst pedestrians and cyclists are as much at risk as ever. In addition, these figures do not take into account the toll on the health of those who are bereaved - commonly several people are affected by one death - or those seriously injured and left needing long-term medical care. Even the 'walking wounded' can be affected long-term, both by their injuries and by severe trauma.
This is all despite the efforts of a committed local traffic police department to reduce this staggering toll. This shows that police initiatives are not the key to rectifying the situation. It is also clear that we cannot rely on our government (national or local) to solve the problem either. Their reluctance to act is surprising in light of their wish to be seen as protecting their citizens from other perceived threats, though the number of road deaths exceeds victims of terrorism or gun crime by some distance. Liverpool's 'Car Free Day' typically consists of nothing more than closing Bold Street for a few hours on a Sunday, while public transport is left to become less and less reliable and safe. The alleged cost of improving road safety is a smokescreen for the lack of political will to do anything, when the massive costs of road incidents to the taxpayer and the economy (lost skills, disruption on the roads and lengthy NHS treatment) are calculated.
Motorists rarely consider themselves to blame for their own misfortunes, believing that crashes only happen to other people. This is seen clearly in the routine use of the word 'accident' to describe events which were the result of irresponsibility or negligence, making them appear as unavoidable acts of fate. The arrogant insistence of many that what they get up to in their cars is a question of 'personal freedom' ignores the basic principle that the 'rights' they are demanding clearly infringe the rights of non-motorists. Their 'control' could also include choosing to drive (or not drive) responsibly and save the lives of others.
Weak penalties lead to the belief that dangerous driving habits are socially acceptable. As 'everyone' speeds and talks on their mobiles while driving, juries regularly acquit those charged, thinking 'it could happen to anyone'. Most cases involving road deaths are heard in magistrates' courts as motoring offences and the death is not even mentioned.
These social attitudes are partly formed by the blatantly disinterested attitude of government to the rights of road victims. Road victims have been entirely excluded from the Home Office Victims' Charter. Their feelings of injustice and invisibility only add to their trauma and lengthen recovery time. The only national helpline - provided by volunteers from the victim-led ‘RoadPeace’ - has to rely on donations, while ‘Aftermath Support’ - which provides practical and emotional support on Merseyside - was funded only temporarily and is now reduced to begging for grants.
As things stand, road death is the biggest killer of children and teenagers in the UK and also a major threat to the elderly (40% of pedestrians killed are over sixty). Increasing car use deters cycling and walking, destroys the environment and exposes many to massive doses of traffic fumes and a rapid growth in asthma rates. Other social effects are alarming - it increases social isolation and the clear trend is for the poor to be killed by the rich.
We do not have to accept the inevitability of our streets becoming more dangerous with every passing year, though. It is unfortunate that - at present - people seem not to give this issue much thought until they are personally affected by a road incident. How much better off would we all be if we could encourage everyone to consider it before they have to go through such a trauma? But we cannot rely on our politicians or police to remedy the current intolerable situation for us. It is down to each of us to combat social attitudes and apply pressure to make it happen.

RoadPeace - www.roadpeace.org
Aftermath Support - www.aftermathsupport.org.uk
Pictures from Carbusters - www.carbusters.org