WHAT IS A CAREFUL DRIVER?
25 January 2005 - Safe Speed

Oversimplified messages damage road safety says Safe Speed.

The widely reported case of a lady eating an apple raises a very serious road safety problem. It''s not that eating apples is a real cause of road danger - it isn''t - but nationally we''re fast losing sight of what it means to be a careful driver.

Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed road safety campaign
(www.safespeed.org.uk) said: ''If we take official road safety messages at face value we''d probably conclude that a driver who keeps two hands on the wheel and sticks to the speed limit is a careful driver. But this is a dangerous oversimplification. There is so much more to careful driving than this.''

Careful drivers:

* Take responsibility for their actions
* Concentrate on the task
* Anticipate the actions of others
* Make conservative decisions and leave a margin for error
* Stay calm
* Never drive aggressively
* Take driving seriously
* Leave a margin for error
* Set appropriate speeds

Paul continues: ''Driving is a complex task and a great responsibility. It cannot safely be reduced to a few simple rules. Road safety policy must concentrate on important factors - skills, attitudes and responsibilities. That''s what we had when we earned ourselves the safest roads in the world, but for the last ten years we''ve had nothing but oversimplification and the damage is clear. Road deaths are up.''

You can''t measure safe driving in miles per hour.

www.safespeed.org.uk

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