Worth all the cost
Page 7
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Britain's roads, as any driver will tell you, are a dangerous place and we suspect that the vast majority of our readers will have witnessed or even been involved in a road traffic accident of some sort at some time. But how many of these accidents could have been avoided by things like greater situational awareness, a less hurried pace, or -better vehicle maintenance?
Again, we suspect the answer is the vast majority.
So even if it does land hauliers with lots of red tape, we welcome the possibility of proposals to make sure all accidents are reported to the Health & Safety Executive.
If it makes those maintaining vehicles just a little bit more thorough, those pressuring drivers into long hours just a little bit more thoughtful, and those breaking the speed limit just a little bit more conscious of the consequences, then the chances are high that accidents will really be reduced.
And that means fewer lives lost senselessly—good for drivers, good for haulage operators, good for road safety all round. Now what's a little bit more red tape (in what is already a sea of the stuff for operators) next to that?
• As predicted, the tail of the foot and mouth epidemic has been long and hauliers coming and going in Yorkshire can be forgiven for feeling frustrated at the latest round of emergency measures which will undoubtedly add many long hours to journey times, particularly given that harvesting is about to begin.
But frustrated or not, we must all do our best to assist the authorities in finally eradicating this disease. Otherwise, we may simply be prolonging the agony for everyone.