After all driving instruction isn't just about the learning process it is also about responsibility post test, isn't that what the standards check is trying to achieve. The inclusion of the ADI in the bid to contribute to vision zero is surely a worthwhile one, it's unfortunate that although this is the desire of the EU, the actual information hasn't been filtered down to those at the sharp end. So what are the latest statistics and how can we really take part.
The rise of fatal accidents on urban roads must send alarm bells ringing through road safety groups as this is the area where most engineering has taken place. Speeding in those areas has been tackled country wide, with the introduction of average speed cameras in some villages, on major routes and past schools where there is an accident history, so what isn't working, and why not and can the new driver population contribute to the reduction of those figures.
Urban fatality rates were 34% this has risen to 42% in 2013, that is a huge and worrying change. The vulnerable road user has always been the concern in this environment, with young teenagers having the highest fatal risk. On questioning a group of experienced drivers most considered this group to be careless when crossing the road and distracted by technology. While this may be the impression amongst drivers the research tells a different story. The young teenager has always been a group for concern, going to school unaccompanied, spending more time without an adult in a peer group, this doesn't mean they are rising to the challenge of pressured behaviour, in fact the research tells a story to the contrary, in 2010 the BMJ published a report that recognised up to the age of 14 a child is unable to physically judge the speed of an approaching vehicle, as brain development cannot appreciate speed and distance at that point, so therefore is unable to quantify the risk. When moving in a group they will follow the lead of the others, the trends suggest it is most likely to be the teenager on their own where fatal injury is most likely to take place. There are two reasons for this. The driver does not perceive a risk when there is a child alone as this is considered a manageable risk, the danger of manageable risk is the brain activity of the driver will switch to other risk assessments too thereby allocating less attention to the vulnerable lone person. When the teen crosses the road in a group the driver will automatically respond, but the random unexpected behaviour of the lone pedestrian trying to assess the situation will take the road user by surprise and is most likely to result in fatal injury.
So when moving onto the young driver it is also useful to know that the same piece of research identified that an adult, considered over the age of 14, cannot judge the speed of an approaching vehicle once it is travelling at more than 50mph, although some would argue this point, it is a physical impossibility, our brain makes the assessment on fast, faster or even faster, which is why some choose an inappropriate gap in moving traffic. All of this is of vital importance in the world of driver training. Can the ADI really make a difference in terms of fatal accident figures, of course. If the pupil buys into the concept which is where coaching comes in,
There is no recognisible address to the problem, despite the WHO publishing a list of considerations, the EURSC publishing a strategy that is vague and lacking in direction. Where is the starting point, well unfortunately the only way is through thorough research starting from 1979, there are thousands of pages of data, targets and information, which do in fact result in a worthwhile plan, but the changes in the political arena interrupt this making it an arduous task for the majority.
We have lost our top slot as the safest roads to drive on in the European community, with Sweden back up there, in terms of figures, our results for 2013, although fallen from 1754 to 1713, it is a poor percentage change in comparision to other countries, particularly the new comers, in moving forward with major improvement.
