Safety measures still don’t prevent crashes

NUMEROUS articles relating to road safety improvements and reducing accidents have appeared in newspapers and on TV over many years.

On the highways, we have seen flyovers, underpasses, bypasses, non-skid surfaces, lower speed limits and myriad signs and traffic lights.

We have multi-coloured lines and reflecting studs with a superior standard of street lighting. And, of course, the ubiquitous speed cameras.

All these things are intended to reduce accidents. Vehicles, meanwhile, are fitted with safer tyres, crumple zones, seat belts, air bags, ABS braking and even a chip which controls the functions of the car.

In the future, chips will also govern speed, distance and braking to prevent rear-end collisions. Eventually, chips will be fitted to track where the vehicles are, or have been, at any given time.

However, even with all these great innovations, collisions (not accidents) still happen.

Unfortunately, the main cause of them has never been upgraded to meet the rigorous safety demands weapon.

I refer, of course, to the good old British driver. None of them has ever had a chip fitted or had any kind of safety upgrade.

Somewhere, there must be a brain surgeon who could fit a chip to deflate the over-active egos and replace them with good old common sense.

The accidents and death rates on our roads will stay high while cars are sold on the basis that they can go from 0-to-death in five seconds.

And who can ignore the lorry drivers who speed along as though they are in a sporty VW Golf or similar.

You will have met them, especially on the A55 or any motorway, going uphill and, then without warning, pulling out in an attempt to overtake a line of four or five other HGVs.

They know that they won’t be able do it, but will still try causing massive tailbacks and inconvenience to other road users.

There we are – problem solved in an instant. of driving a lethal