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In a message dated 9/6/02 8:50:59 PM, [log in to unmask] writes:
<< I suspect that PSamuel might be one of those who put this high level of

saying they didn't see down to "not wanting to take responsibility". >> No
regardless of  issues of responsibility we need to make our roads safer. We
are bound to have drivers of very varying ability and we should do stuff that
makes it safer for the poor drivers because they are always going to be with
us - if I might coin a variant of a phrase. But let's not waste our energies
on marginal gimmicks like DRLs. We DO know how to dramatically improve road
safety - get more of our traffic off surface arterials and onto motorways, a
term I use to encompass freeways/parkways/expressways/tollroads - where
incidentally DRLs are quite superflous. Motorways have 8.3 fatalities per
billion vehicle-miles traveled versus 18.4 fatalities for non-motorway type
roads in the US. We know they have the same types of drivers and the same
vehicles, so there are no sample problems, as with DRLs and other new devices
on new cars. The percentage difference is dramatic not something around the
level of statistical significance. We know we can halve road deaths by
putting traffic on grade separated access controlled roads. Only 30 percent
of our VMT is on motorways. If we could get that up to 50 percent by building
a lot more motorways we could save over 5,000 lives a year. Our dilletantish
safety establishment won't even discuss this issue of motorways being safer
roads, and prefers to dabble in a whole set of minor gimmicks like DRLs. They
are not serious about getting results. P Samuel