ROAD SAFETY REPORT: BRICKBATS AND BOUQUETS

The first report of the House of Commons Transport Committee on Road Safety is welcomed in bringing the scale of UK road accidents to the attention of the public. Despite the introduction of compulsory wearing of front seat belts, road accidents still cause 19 deaths and over one thousand injuries each day. However, there were deficiencies in the report in that it proposed an experiment to raise the speed limit on motorways to 80 mile/h where all available evidence suggests that accidents would become more and worse. Furthermore most motorists do not want the limit raised. Arguing that enforcement would be easier with an 80 mile/h limit was not convincing since the majority of drivers travelled at under 70 mile/h. The committee also failed to recommend the rapid introduction of cycle lanes and was too timid in the matter of testing drivers for alcohol when the risk of apprehension in Britain for drivers over the limit was very small indeed. For abstract of the House of Commons transport committee on road safety volume 1, 2 and 3, report and Minutes of Proceedings 1984, see TRIS 395017. (TRRL)

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00071447
• Corporate Authors:

  British Medical Association

  BMA House, Tavistock Square
  London WC1H 9JR,   United Kingdom 
• Publication Date: 1985-1

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: p. 264-265
• Serial:
  • BMJ
  • Volume: 290
  • Issue Number: 6464
  • Publisher: British Medical Association
  • ISSN: 0959-8138
  • Serial URL: http://www.bmj.com/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alcohol breath tests; Bikeways; Blood alcohol levels; Crash rates; Crashes; Drunk driving; Federal government; Freeways; Highway safety; Manual safety belts; Safety; Speed limits; Traffic safety education; Utilization
• Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
• ITRD Terms: 1643: Accident; 1612: Accident rate; 1542: Alcohol test; 1553: Blood alcohol content; 2722: Cycle track; 183: Government (national); 2752: Motorway; 1665: Safety; 1476: Safety belt; 624: Speed limit; 8119: United Kingdom
• Subject Areas: Education and Training; Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Terminals and Facilities; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00396634
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 30 1985 12:00AM