Category - World

No, really?

One more statement of the bleeding obvious to round off the month – though there is still a day to go yet – from The Journal in Ireland.

Apparently, in this hot news the RSA warns that using your mobile when driving results in an increased risk of collision. Well, knock me down with a feather!

The article also says that driver distraction is “thought” to play a role in 20-30% of all road collisions and using your mobile can increase the risk by four times. I hate it when numerical data are linked by words like “thought” – because they become the kind of data you can’t process with a computer. However, the unintentional implication from this is that sometimes it is OK to use the phone because it doesn’t always play a role.

If you’re going to come out with such statements of the obvious, at least state the most obvious thing of all and be done with it: doing anything other than concentrating on driving is dangerous.

And introduce suitable penalties for doing it. Forget silly videos and “awareness” courses. Bring back darkened rooms and lengths of rubber hose.

First of all, there was this story in the Los Angeles Times – reporting how new drivers in China were being shown actual footage and photos of real accidents to shock them into being careful on the roads.

Zheng Hao watched a video titled “Care About Life: Follow the Traffic Rules”…

They were assaulted by 30 minutes of gruesome footage showing crushed cyclists, pedestrians flung into the air like rag dolls, charred human remains and victims’ families grieving hysterically.

“The women in the class were sobbing afterward,” said Zheng, 21. “Even the guys were disturbed.”

Compare this with those videos the DSA releases and it’s like comparing a Disney cartoon to a David Cronenberg horror movie. But I’m not knocking it – if it works, why hold back?

Then came this next story – actually from China (CCTV) – about new, tougher drink driving laws. They’re not approved yet, but if they are possible punishments include:

• permanent licence revocation
• higher fines
• imprisonment

At present, a convicted drink driver gets 15 days in prison and a 3-6 month ban. The story appears to say that current laws will revoke the licence permanently if someone is caught twice in a year.

The proposed amendment would see first time offenders have their licences revoked, and they wouldn’t be able to apply for a new license for 5 years. The fine would be tripled from the present figure to about £190 (I guess there is a cost of living factor – a mechanic would only earn about £80 a month – so it is a massive fine when you think about it).

The life ban would come into play if a serious accident resulted.

Good on the Chinese. Both the UK and the USA could learn from this.

(Going back to the original story, the shock videos have become macabre entertainment for the West).

You see? Now we’re at it in the UK!

After that last article about statements of the blindingly obvious in America, the Institute of Advanced Neighbourhood Watch Coordinators over here has produced “research” which “shows” two thirds of accidents are caused by basic errors. These errors include:

• lack of observation
• loss of control
• poor technique

In other words, not looking ahead and going too fast (therefore losing control and not being able to handle it). And they needed to “research” this.

IAM chief executive Simon Best said this shows it is relatively simple for drivers to reduce their accident rates and insurance costs by taking additional training and seeking to improve their skills.

Another way is not to behave like prats in the first place, and so avoid getting into the situation to start with.

The article is only a short one, but it would be hard to get any more statements of the blindingly obvious in:

Having a driving licence doesn’t necessarily mean that drivers have the skills they need to be safe.

This comes after road safety charity Brake published data from a survey last month showing that UK motorists are more likely to blame others for their accidents than accept responsibility themselves.

That second one is also known as “defrauding your insurance” or “lying”. In most cases they know bloody well it was their fault and are just trying to pull a fast one – it has nothing to do with skills or training.

Gaining a driving licence has always been a first step on the road to learning more. If people learn to be idiots, it isn’t the driver training system that’s at fault.

A few posts ago, I mentioned how companies running surveys are wont to state the blindingly obvious as revelations from Heaven.

The Americans appear to be no different in this respect. The Mercury of Pottstown, PA, has chosen to inform us (that link seemed to stop working while I was writing this – I assume it is temporary) that most crashes involving teen drivers are caused by driver error! To be fair, it is not The Mercury, but The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance Companies who are the bringers of this hitherto unknown fact.

Over here, we call ad hoc surveys of a relatively small number of participants “research”. In the States they call it “a study”.

The “study” reveals that common “critical errors” include:

• going too fast
• not looking and planning ahead
• being distracted by something

They also concluded that the weather, vehicle faults, aggression, and falling asleep were not primary factors. I think they may have missed the point that although the majority of the 800 accidents they looked at may not have been due to those things, some of them definitely will have – especially drowsiness, aggression, and driving faulty vehicles. There are plenty of viral videos (and clips on the cop shows on TV) to confirm this.

This study helps dispel the myth that most teen crashes are due to aggressive driving or thrill-seeking,” said Allison Curry, lead author and a researcher at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Center for Injury Research and Prevention. “Promoting safe driving skills is as important as preventing problem behaviors.”

Has she never heard of cause and effect? Or considered that some things might be related?

People often go too fast because they are driving aggressively. People often don’t plan ahead because they’re tired or distracted. There is no way an accident investigation can eliminate those things when speed, lack of planning, or distraction are identified.

I suspect the “study” was perhaps more concerned about finding something to justify that last sentence about promoting driving skills.

I’ve written recently about the changes to the Irish driving test. I’ve only scratched the surface with the links I referred to – it has been a hot topic in Ireland for some weeks now.

Basically, anyone wishing to get a licence over there has to complete a minimum number of hours with an instructor and cover a specific syllabus provided by the Irish authority.

Naturally, something like this couldn’t possibly run completely smoothly seeing as driving instructors are involved, and it appears those in Ireland are no less ready to oppose any change than those over here are.

But talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

This report in the Journal - and it is one of many I have seen over the last few weeks – is actually encouraging people to shop around to get the cheapest deals. Its headline trumpets:

Huge savings can be made by L-drivers who shop around for lessons

The body of the report says that the National Consumer Agency – a group which hasn’t lost the plot, because it clearly didn’t have it to start with – says that there are huge discrepancies in prices, with lesson prices varying between €25 and €45, with the average around €33.

Yes. That’s because some instructors are cutting their prices to try and win business. Price-cutting is the strategy of the loser, and the chances are that in general the quality will be better from those charging the higher prices in any given location. Note that I said “in general” and “the chances are”.

If someone can command a rate of €33 or more, they are probably not bad at what they are doing. If someone has to cut their price to try and win business away from those higher-charging ADIs, then possibly they either aren’t performing well enough to command higher prices, or they are putting themselves in a position where they perhaps won’t be able to perform.

The cost of living in Ireland is such that €33 is the equivalent of about £25-27 over here. So someone charging €25 is asking the equivalent of about £20 over here – a £5-7 undercut.

If you cut prices, you cut profit; and if you cut profit, you need to look to cut overheads. Fuel is an overhead.

Organisations like these should keep their noses out unless they know what they are talking about. Ireland is trying to bring its antiquated learner system into the 21st century, yet these opponents – all of them – are pushing it backwards.

The article makes no mention of shopping around for quality. It’s only point is price.

EDIT 21/4/2011: This article in Waterford Today is interesting – it summarises the Irish system.

Changes for learner drivers

Question: I turn 17 in April and I want to learn how to drive a car. What do I need to do?

Answer: Before you begin to learn to drive on public roads in Ireland, you must hold a learner permit covering the category of vehicle you wish to drive. You must pass a theory test and get a theory test certificate before your first learner permit will be granted.

If you take out a first-time learner permit after 4 April 2011 you must do mandatory Essential Driver Training (EDT) with an approved driving instructor (ADI). The course is 12 hours for car licences and 16 hours for motorcycle licences. (This measure has been in place for learner motor cycle drivers since 6 December 2010). You do not need to do the lessons if your first learner permit was issued before 4 April 2011.

When you start your first EDT lesson, you will be given an official logbook by your ADI to record the details of your training and progress. A sample logbook is available on rsa.ie.

When you complete an EDT lesson, your ADI will stamp the relevant section of your logbook and record feedback on how well or whether you met the lesson objectives. An ADI can only sign the lessons they have given so you must make sure that your logbook is updated by your ADI after each lesson.

For both car and motorcycles, you will have to present evidence of having taken the lessons before sitting a driving test (your logbook for car lessons or your certificate for motorcycle lessons).

When you are learning to drive you must be accompanied at all times by, and be under the supervision of, someone with a current driving licence for a car. Also, the person accompanying you must have had the driving licence for at least two years.

You can find a full list of approved driving instructors on the website of the Road Safety Authority at rsa.ie. You can get the application form for a learner permit (D.201) from your Motor Taxation Office or you can request Form D.201 by post through citizensInformation.ie. It is not available to download online.

Further information is available from the Citizens Information Centre below.

This column has been compiled by Waterford Citizens Information Centre Ltd., 37 Lower Yellow Road, Tel:051-351133 which provides a free and confidential service to the public. Open 10am-1pm & 2-5pm e-mail: waterford@citinfo.ie Citizens Information is also available on-line at http://www.citizensinformation.ie or at National Lo-Call 1890 777 121.

A report in the Independent says that 70% of European drivers (that includes Britain) are driving on under-inflated tyres.

The survery was done by Bridgestone, who calculated that 2 billion litres of fuel are wasted annually as a direct result. Nearly 10% of cars tested were so seriously under-inflated they were dangerous.

You should always:

• check your tyre pressures regularly
• look for any obvious deflation at other times
• get the correct information from your handbook or the label in the door frame or under the fuel flap (there will be one somewhere)
• DON’T read it off the tyre
• use a reliable gauge – don’t trust the garage forecourt meters
• measure the pressure cold – before a journey
• don’t forget the spare tyre

You can pick up pressure gauges from Halfords for around £5.