Road Safety Projects.

[Sgt Lobster]

In Lancashire(UK) we have taken on board the road casualty reduction techniques pioneered by the State of Victoria (Aus). This has resulted in hundreds of fixed speed and traffic light cameras being installed throughout the county.

Great use is also made of mobile speed detection equipment, and drink/drug driving and seat belt offences are also targetted.

The latest tool is Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) which provides instant data on passing vehicles. All this is backed up by the media, especially graphic televison advertisments. What technques are used in other jurisdictions to reduce road casualties ?




Lobster.

[JohnKelly]

As per Victoria, but I'd say that you are ahead of us re the installation of the fixed cameras and the ANPR.

[Sig220Man]

Here in the US, road safety projects are usually tackled with manpower -- and LOTS of it. What we do is put out a large number of officers, often on overtime, to tackle a specific situation.

Sometimes these projects, which often are called "Directed Enforcement" or "Selective Enforcement" or "Wolf Packs", are paid for with government grants, usually from the Federal Government. This is particularly true with projects such as Seat Belt Enforcement and DUI Enforcement.

Sometimes agencies do this on their own to handle specific problems, such as a rise in road-racing incidents in the wake of the premiere of the road-racing movie 2Fast 2Furious (http://www.thefastandthefurious.com/)

In a society that is very suspicious of any sort of government Big Brotherism, red light cameras are only grudgingly being accepted by the public in this country. While many municipalities experimented with photo radar in the 1980s, few are still using them.

[Sgt Lobster]

Take a look at the attached link this will give you some idea of how the road safety initiative works http://www.safe2travel.co.uk/



Lobster.

[JohnKelly]

Sgt Lobster, I checked out the Website and it is certainly nicely put together.

Its amazing how with some good promotion and education, community standards can be turned around. I can remember the days when drivers would boast to their mates on how they were able to drive home after so many Pots/Schooners/Pints/Stubbys under their belt. Now, not so, it is no longer socially acceptable to Drink and Drive. Our main thrust was "If you Drink and Drive you're a Bloody Idiot!"

Our next target is Driving whilst under the influence of Drugs (not alcohol) and we have legislation before Parliament to give us the power to conduct Random Drug Testing.

We currently have a Blitz on, 'Use Handheld Phone whilst Driving',

[Sgt Lobster]

John,

Drugged driving is big problem here in the UK. Unfortunately we do not have any effective roadside screening device. There are some tests available which have been trailed, but they only screen for one drug at a time. Some traffic officers have also been trained to conduct US style field sobriety tests. Drugged driving arrests generally only get made if the driver is well and truely out of it.


Lobster.