Accident Prevention: The Wrong Approach
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IT was suggested at a recent Scottish road-safety 'conference that the movements of pedestrians be controlled to cut down the likelihood of accidents. It was further stated that the general public would welcome regulations to this effect. Presumably they would entail that anyone crossing the road elsewhere than on an authorized crossing would be penalized. Regulations of this kind are in force in several European capitals.
On the face of it, the suggestion is a worthy one, but at second sight and in the light of possible results it appears to be somewhat drastic. Quite apart from the point that we doubt whether the general public would welcome any new regulations, the proposal is ,open to criticism on a number of grounds.
The first is whether such rules would materially affect the number of accidents. Many are caused by the carelessness of the victims themselves. Perhaps the idea is to safeguard the careful pedestrian against the careless driver, and the careless pedestrian against himself. An analysis of road-accident cases would reveal the value of the proposed regulations.
We feel that most drivers and pedestrians are careful; in any case, many towns do help, to control pedestrians' movements by means of kerbside fences, the provision of Belisha crossings and subways. To prohibit indiscriminate crossing would place another burden on our under-manned and busy police forces. Four thousand people are killed and 100,000 injured on the roads every year, and the problem is serious. The obvious remedy is for more suitable roads to be built. Successive Governments, however, seem to have been content with a series of emergency measures, until the state is rapidly being reached when traffic of all kinds in our towns is being regulated to the point of complete stultification.
Until this country is provided with a modern and efficient roads system, present shortcomings can be better offset by self-discipline and care than by severe palliatives.