PR610: ISA Control Makes Zombie Drivers

news: for immediate release
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Claire Armstrong,co- founder of the Safe Speed road safety campaign
(www.safespeed.org.uk) said:
"ISA is a fatally flawed technology as far as road safety is concerned.
Safe driving depends on drivers being fully engaged, adjusting their
speed to the immediate conditions.

With ISA ordinary motorists will turn into zombies with their foot planted to
the floor, trusting the satellite to control their speed. They will not be as
ready
to deal road hazards. They will behave like zombies. Clearly those who advocate
this system understand nothing about the process of safe driving or road safety.

Driving isn't a behaviour to be controlled - it is a skill to be nurtured.

Initial trials from Leeds clearly demonstrated the dangers of the system as
drivers paid less attention, tailgated more and pulled into smaller gaps.
Problems like it resetting itself, leaving motorists in neutral, or slowing
during
in an overtake, as it changed from one posted limit to the next, leaving the car
behind, nearly rear ending the car in front, making all road users, and drivers
vulnerable to it's 'intelligence' systems, and making for highly dangerous
maneuvers

Making cars go slower will not help with congestion, but add to it. Nor will
turning
drivers into 'zombies', make them have less accidents, but more.

Satellite speed control is anything but intelligent. Remember there is no such
thing as a safe zombie.
Since the introduction of HGV speed limiters, deaths amongst HGV drivers have
risen alarmingly.
Anyone who understand safe driving will know that safety depends on drivers
being fully engaged in the task.

We do NOT have a widespread safety problem caused by responsible motorists
driving too fast for the conditions. Crashes involving 'excessive speed' are
only about 5% of all injury crashes.

Reduced traffic speeds DO NOT give drivers more time to react. Time to react
is something that drivers routinely create for themselves, with appropriate and
effective observation, anticipation and planning.
It is likely that dumbed down driving will provide lower levels of attention and
planning and lead to higher average impact speeds.

Driving isn't a behaviour to be controlled - it is a skill to be nurtured. We
have had
the safest roads in the world because we have, on average, the most skilled
drivers.
Taking state control of drivers' choices is already slowly but surely deskilling
our
drivers. I am certain that this is the main reason that Serious Injury figures
are
remaining high. Policies like these fail to recognise the true psychological
foundation of road safety and would certainly lead to more dead people in the
future.

ISA is the worst of the lot. It will encourage people to drive at deadly
speeds trusting the technology to take responsibility. It is absurd to suggest
that a speed can be safe because it is posted at the roadside. Speeds are only
safe when aware drivers can stop comfortably within the distance that they know
to be clear. Even 20mph is a deadly speed if used without appropriate skill and
attention."

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Notes to Editors:

Ref http://www.safespeed.org.uk/TRL595.html
11th May 2009 -
Times Online:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/article6260444.ece?Submitted=true
TfL - http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/7893.aspx
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Since Pauls tragic demise in Dec 2007, Claire Armstrong, Pauls partner,
continues Safe Speed.
==================
www.safespeed.org.uk
Contact Safe Speed:co-founder Claire Armstrong
------------------------------------
description: Safe Speed road safety campaign
web: http://www.safespeed.org.uk
email: carmstrong@...
telephone: 01862 893030
mobile: 07799 045553 & 07721 331991

Location:
North Scotland

We are always available for further comment on your road safety story.

To be added to our PR distribution list send an email to
carmstrong@... or visit our press pages at:
http://www.safespeed.org.uk/prindex.html

Recent press releases (since November 2004) are automatically and immediately
uploaded to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SafeSpeedPR

About Safe Speed
================

The Safe Speed road safety campaign is primarily the work of engineer-turned
road safety analyst Paul Smith.

Since setting up Safe Speed in 2001, Paul Smith, 52, an advanced motorist and
road safety enthusiast, and a professional engineer of 25 years UK experience,
has carried out over 10,000 hours working on the campaign with well over 5,000
of those hours researching the overall effects of speed camera policy on UK
road safety. In addition to those 10,000 hours, Paul had funded the campaign to
the tune of £10,000.

We believe that this is more work in more detail than anything carried out by
any other organisation. Paul's surprising conclusion is that overall speed
cameras make our roads more dangerous. Paul has identified and reported a
number of major flaws and false assumptions in the claims made for speed
cameras, and the whole "speed kills" system of road safety.

The inescapable conclusion is that we should urgently return to the excellent
road safety policies that gave us in the UK the safest roads in the World in
the first place. Far from saving lives, speed cameras are a dangerous
distraction.

Safe Speed does not campaign against speed limits or appropriate enforcement
of motoring laws, but argues vigorously that automated speed enforcement is
neither safe nor appropriate.

Safe Speed is very slimly funded by voluntary contributions to the web site.
We are urgently seeking improved funding.

The Safe Speed web site contains more than 350,000 words of road safety
analysis and information. We are seeking publishers for 'the book of the web
site'.

It has turned out to be quite an amazing story and there are opportunities for
journalists and broadcasters to explore how all this came about, what it
means, and where road safety has gone so badly wrong.