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Eight-Point Wish-List to Punish Aggressive Drivers and Make Our Roads Safe

posted by janrinok on Sunday August 21 2016, @06:04PM   
from the this-is-safer? dept.

n1 writes:

[...] It is clear that a significant minority of British drivers put their time and their 'needs' above the safety of other road users and pedestrians. In a few decades, the driverless car will be perfected and the driven car must be made obsolete, preferably by law.

Until then the Government and the insurance industry should take radical steps to help residents of rural and urban communities reclaim their neighbourhoods from the lorries, the lunatics - and those Great British Motorists who like toddlers think they can do what they like, and explode with rage and indignation when questioned about it.

1. Black boxes compulsory in every vehicle, with improved technology that detects speed limit breaking and careless or aggressive driving.

2. Insurance companies encouraged to hike premiums immediately and punitively as bad driving is revealed.

3. Insurance companies obliged to hand over to DVLA and / or police all data that reveals traffic offences and dangerous driving.

4. Legal framework to allow prosecution and driving bans relating to offences revealed by black boxes.

5. Legal changes to encourage use of dashcam / helmet-cam / CCTV evidence to prosecute motorists.

6. Comprehensive review of 30mph speed limits, with local consultations on which should be lowered to 20mph.

7. Limit revs to 3,000rpm on all vehicles - as condition of passing MOT - to cut noise and dangerous acceleration.

8. Funding for technology that will limit all vehicles automatically to the local speed limit (and in the case of national speed limits, a safe speed for the road conditions); and will prevent heavy goods vehicles from using inappropriate rural and urban roads.

Source: This is Money

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Original Submission

• OK, with the following proviso... OK, with the following proviso... (Score: 5, Funny) by janrinok on Sunday August 21 2016, @06:41PM

  by janrinok (52) on Sunday August 21 2016, @06:41PM (#391147) Journal

  Sure, as long as you can satisfactorily answer the following concerns:

  1. The software in the 'Black Boxes' is available for public scrutiny - we wouldn't want any bugs or poorly written code to result in false accusations now, would we? And the maintenance and repair of the black box is fully funded by the insurance companies - not the drivers who don't want to buy it.
  2. Does accelerating or breaking quickly to avoid an accident equate to 'bad or dangerous driving' - even if a collision was avoided? After all, there would be no evidence of an accident being avoided would there? There is a reason that the emergency stop is part of the driving test in the UK and Europe. Sometimes rapid deceleration saves lives.
  3. A black box cannot identify an 'offence' - only a court of law can do that. As for 'dangerous driving, see 2 above.
  4. See 3 above.
  5. Legal changes to 'encourage' the use of cameras - what does that mean. This court rules that 'we encourage your use of a camera'? No legal changes are required to simply 'encourage' the use of a camera - a cut in the cost of my insurance premium is more likely to achieve the same aim. But, of course, that means that the insurance companies don't make as much profit.....
  6. Why don't we go the whole hog and re-introduce the rule that all motor vehicles must be preceded by a man on foot carrying a red flag? After all, if a walking pace was good enough 100 years ago or more, surely it is enough now?
  7. Limiting the RPM means that you might be operating at a less than optimum torque - not very safe for avoiding an accident. Why choose 3000RPM, why not 1,000,000 or 2?
  8. The silencer (muffler to my US friends) reduces the noise quite adequately - and is already tested as part of the MOT (Ministry of Transport test). Define 'dangerous acceleration'. Does getting out of the way of another vehicle which is out of control equate to dangerous acceleration?
  9. As long as all vehicles means 'ALL VEHICLES' - including emergency services and law enforcement - but of course, it won't do. Only everyone else has accidents.

  I've never heard of this publication before - and I will be quite content never to hear of it again. On the other hand, a regular supply of whatever it is that they are smoking would be appreciated.

  Starting Score:	1		point
  Moderation		+4
  Insightful=1, Interesting=1, Funny=2, Total=4
  Extra 'Funny' Modifier		0
  Karma-Bonus Modifier		+1
  Total Score:		5

• ''The software[...]available for public scrutiny'' (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 21 2016, @09:53PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 21 2016, @09:53PM (#391267)

  I am seeing lots of opportunities for for-profit hackers creating mods that wipe the memory just as soon as the engine has the data it needs to go the next 10 seconds.

  breaking quickly

  I hope that's "braking".

  the rule that all motor vehicles must be preceded by a man on foot carrying a red flag

  That's still on the books in some places.

  -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]

  Parent

• Re:OK, with the following proviso... (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 22 2016, @04:23AM

  by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 22 2016, @04:23AM (#391456)

  insurance rates go down? when have they EVER gone down after any act of legislation has been passed?

  Parent