Why We Keep Dying On The Road – The Real Problem With Cyclists Part 2

I wrote little piece on the often heated topic of cyclists and their place on our roads. It gathered the expected level of abuse and rhetoric, but also generated some really good discussion, including some important points that are relevant to all road users.

This year the Road Toll looks set to rise, again. Despite harder enforcement of speed limits, despite increased standards for vehicle safety, despite having newer safer cars, despite all the road safety campaigns, more and more New Zealanders are having accidents on our roads, and more and more of us are dying.

We are told constantly that speed kills and that slowing down will save lives. The Police are forced by the Government to enforce speed limits with zero tolerance, and millions of dollars is spent on Police hours forcing them to hand out tickets. But we all know speed is not the problem. If you have ever traveled overseas on a place you have traveled at many times the open road speed limit; most passenger aircraft cruise at around 400kph. The problem is not how fast you are going.
So if the problem is not speed, what is it? What is causing us to die on the roads. It’s sudden stops. Not the slam on the brakes do a skid kind of stop. It is the very rapid and very violent deceleration that occurs when a two cars hit each other. When you go from 100kph to 0kph in a fraction of a second, bad things happen to your body.

But what causes two cars to hit each other? In any road crash investigation they consider 3 factors, The Vehicle, The Conditions and The Driver. But modern cars do not randomly fall apart. For a modern car to suffer a mechanical failure severe enough to cause an accident there must have been a severe and negligent lack of maintenance. That is the drivers responsibility. You are responsible for looking after your own car, if you go drive someone else’s, it is also your responsibility to make sure it is safe. Sometimes road conditions can be very dangerous, and very rarely things to happen that a driver has no control over. But if the road conditions are not ideal any responsible driver will identify the problem (wet, cold, snow, gravel etc) and adjust their driving accordingly. Again, you the driver are responsible for how a vehicle is driven in all possible road conditions.
All of which brings us to the Driver.
The Driver, in the vast majority of road accidents is at fault. At some point before or during being in control of the vehicle they made a bad decision.

And that is where the problem with Cyclists comes back into it. Because they are also in control of a vehicle on the road. Along with the Truck drivers, and Bus drivers and Taxi drivers and Commuters and Enthusiasts and everyone else who uses the road, they are in control of a vehicle.

So why do we keep dying again?

It’s very simple, as a group and as individuals we are irresponsible road users. The vast majority of New Zealand drivers are poorly  trained, arrogant and ignorant of the needs of other road users.
Think of our roads as being a large community, one that everyone who uses them shares in. Our roads were created as a means of transport, a way of getting people and materials from one place to another. They also serve as a means of recreation, a way of exploring and experiencing our wonderful country. But they are a community asset, one that we all share in.
Share in.

Yes, Sharing.

We all share in the community of road users.

Hmmmmmmmmm.

 

Lets think about that.
When your on the road, you have to share it with others. Not other vehicles, not bicycles and cars. But others. Other People.

I think we have forgotten that. We have forgotten that it is other people we are sharing the road with.
Which is important, because when you fail as a driver, when you make a bad decision it is other people that you car will collide with, it is other people who will experience that sudden split second deceleration along with you.

So next time you grab your keys, or your helmet, or your Lycra, stop and think about everyone else who also wants to use the road, be mindful of them, be aware of them, and be responsible, follow the road rules and drive to the conditions. If everyone did that we could have a country filled with well trained, responsible drivers, we could all drive faster and have a zero road toll. It is that simple.

 

-Moppie

 

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