From Roger Taylor
The conclusion that smoothing out and reducing speeds in busy urban areas
would reduce the number of accidents is little more than a statement of the
obvious. More relevant is the fact that accidents now are very few compared with
the passenger miles travelled and it could well be that they are nearing an
irreducible minimum, where the number of different causes equals the number of
accidents.
The factor common to most accidents is that complex phenomenon, bad driving
(or bad walking), and while there are a handful of irredeemably bad drivers
about, the real difficulty lies in the fact that all of us are bad drivers from
time to time. No amount of tinkering with statutory speed limits will affect
this. It can only be dealt with by improved awareness, and that requires
education.
Wirral, Merseyside
