Hoon backs speed camera overhaul

[simonp]

Certainly much more needs to be done to raise the levels of helmet wearing.

However what your figures do show is that cyclists, in large numbers, don't give a shit about the law.

Clamp down on all of them.

Would you be saying that if helmets were compulsory?

[Jaded]

Helmets don't save lives or curb anti-social behaviour, so it is a false comparison. 

[spindrift]

1/ A london survey showed buses jumped red lights more often than cyclists.

2/ Not wearing a seatbelt is dangerous for oneself. Speeding is dangerous for others- the risk is transferred.

[simonp]

Helmets don't save lives or curb anti-social behaviour, so it is a false comparison. 

Seatbelts encourage antisocial behaviour, though.

Britain’s seat belt law should be repealed | John Adams: Risk in a Hypermobile World

Second, it is unfair. In modifying their behaviour in response to their increased sense of security, belted motorists drive in a way that puts others at greater risk. The law redistributes the burden of risk from those already best protected, in cars, to those who are most vulnerable, on foot or bicycle. Following the introduction of the law in Britain, as in most other countries, the numbers of pedestrians and cyclists who were killed increased.

[Jaded]

Ah, so it is right to go for non-wearers and speeders then.

[simonp]

Ah, so it is right to go for non-wearers and speeders then.

http://john-adams.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/Seat%20belts%20for%20significance.pdf

Figure 1 in particular.

[mattc]

There's an amusing little tendency amongst the lunatic fringe of labelling anyone who questions the efficacy of the current road safety scheme as being a closet speedophile. The ABD seem to perform exactly the same role in reverse.

An excellent observation sir.

(Damn - I was going to stay out of this thread ... )

[spindrift]

There's an amusing little tendency amongst the lunatic fringe of labelling anyone who questions the efficacy of the current road safety scheme as being a closet speedophile

Um , any actual, you know, evidence for this?  It's a common tactic when an argument is lost to misrepresent those you disagree with. Ascribe to them views that have been made up.

[clarion]

I don't see a lunatic fringe of those supporting safety cameras.  I see people fed up with others using their streets as racetracks.

[spindrift]

I see people fed up with others using their streets as racetracks.

Which antisocial behaviours are the British public most concerned about? University of Reading finds out

Release Date : 11 December 2006

Speeding is top of the league when it comes to antisocial behaviour, a University of Reading study has shown.

Thames Valley Police approached psychologists at the University of Reading and asked them to analyse the British Crime Survey - which considers the concerns of more than 17,000 people across the UK.

Speeding traffic was rated as a significantly greater problem than all other antisocial behaviours, with 43% of the population regarded speeding traffic as a 'very' or 'fairly big' problem in their area.

University of Reading - Which antisocial behaviours are the British public most concerned about?  University of Reading finds out

[clarion]

A lunatic fringe of 43% of the population?  That's bigger than an Emo's.

[Dondare]

A lunatic fringe of 43% of the population? 

Sounds a little low to me.

That's bigger than an Emo's.

Say what?

It is strange that so many motorists speed, but regard it as antisocial when other people do it.

[Jaded]

It is the little tin box syndrome. Protected from reality and society they don't see that their behaviour is unacceptable.