UK drivers among safest, most modest in Europe

UK drivers among safest, most modest in Europe
LONDON (Reuters) - British drivers are among the safest and most modest
in Europe, according to new European research highlighted on Tuesday by
the RAC driving organisation.

Britain along with Sweden has the lowest accident rates in Europe
although only 66 percent of British motorists rate themselves better
drivers than their European neighbours.

The findings from SARTRE (Social Attitudes to Road Traffic Risk in
Europe) found 77 percent of Italian drivers and 74 percent of Irish
motorists considered themselves less dangerous than other European
motorists -- even though both countries have substantially higher
casualty rates than Britain.

"These are interesting findings and point up some real differences in
attitude and experience across Europe," Sue Nicholson of the RAC
Foundation said in a statement.

"The UK has one of the best records for road safety -- it's surprising
that drivers don't hold their skills in even higher esteem."

Only nine percent of British drivers were penalised for speeding
between 2001-2004 -- despite a boom in speed cameras -- against a
European average of 18 percent. Nearly half, 46 percent, of Dutch
drivers had been caught driving too fast.

Nicholson said the study, which interviewed 24,000 drivers throughout
Europe, showed the government needs to rethink its policies towards
drivers.

"We now need to look at some more radical solutions on how we cut our
casualty rate even further. Putting all the road safety eggs in one
speed camera box just isn't thinking flexibly enough."

wrote in message
ups.com...

"The UK has one of the best records for road safety -- it's surprising
that drivers don't hold their skills in even higher esteem."

That's easy. It's because we are constantly being told that our accident
record is awful. Even though it really isn't.

"Mark Hewitt" wrote:

wrote in message
oups.com...

"The UK has one of the best records for road safety -- it's surprising
that drivers don't hold their skills in even higher esteem."

That's easy. It's because we are constantly being told that our accident
record is awful. Even though it really isn't.

It is awful. It's just that others (including us Irish) have even more
awful rates.

--
PB
The return address has been MUNGED

Mark Hewitt wrote:

wrote in message
ups.com...

"The UK has one of the best records for road safety -- it's surprising
that drivers don't hold their skills in even higher esteem."

That's easy. It's because we are constantly being told that our accident
record is awful. Even though it really isn't.

Of course it's awful, but it's a subjective term. Just because other
countries have much worse rates doesn't make the one here 'good.' A car
is potentially a very dangerous piece of machinery. It surprises me that
the privilege of using one is often taken so lightly.

In 2003 in the UK, 3,508 people were killed in road accidents, 33,707
were seriously injured and 253,392 were slightly injured. As someone
'slightly injured' by an idiot driver in 2004 I can testify that even
slight injuries can be painful and require quite a bit of
rehabilitation- some people never fully recover.

There has been a significant reduction in deaths since the 1990s-
particularly successful has been the reduction in children being killed.

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

Mark Hewitt wrote:

wrote in message
ups.com...

"The UK has one of the best records for road safety -- it's surprising
that drivers don't hold their skills in even higher esteem."

That's easy. It's because we are constantly being told that our accident
record is awful. Even though it really isn't.

Of course it's awful, but it's a subjective term. Just because other
countries have much worse rates doesn't make the one here 'good.' A car
is potentially a very dangerous piece of machinery. It surprises me that
the privilege of using one is often taken so lightly.

In 2003 in the UK, 3,508 people were killed in road accidents, 33,707
were seriously injured and 253,392 were slightly injured. As someone
'slightly injured' by an idiot driver in 2004 I can testify that even
slight injuries can be painful and require quite a bit of
rehabilitation- some people never fully recover.

There has been a significant reduction in deaths since the 1990s-
particularly successful has been the reduction in children being killed.

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

"Mark Hewitt" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
ups.com...

"The UK has one of the best records for road safety -- it's surprising
that drivers don't hold their skills in even higher esteem."

That's easy. It's because we are constantly being told that our accident
record is awful. Even though it really isn't.



Hmm In 2003 we killed 3,508 people and injured 290,607 .

Of those fatal casualties 171 were children and another 4000
were seriously injured.

This sounds pretty awful to me, but then I spent 6 months
in hospital in 1968/69 as the result of an RTA so I view
it a little less dispassionately than you may.




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"Mark Hewitt" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
ups.com...

"The UK has one of the best records for road safety -- it's surprising
that drivers don't hold their skills in even higher esteem."

That's easy. It's because we are constantly being told that our accident
record is awful. Even though it really isn't.



Hmm In 2003 we killed 3,508 people and injured 290,607 .

Of those fatal casualties 171 were children and another 4000
were seriously injured.

This sounds pretty awful to me, but then I spent 6 months
in hospital in 1968/69 as the result of an RTA so I view
it a little less dispassionately than you may.




----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

Keith W wrote:

"Mark Hewitt" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
ups.com...

"The UK has one of the best records for road safety -- it's surprising
that drivers don't hold their skills in even higher esteem."

That's easy. It's because we are constantly being told that our accident
record is awful. Even though it really isn't.



Hmm In 2003 we killed 3,508 people and injured 290,607 .

Of those fatal casualties 171 were children and another 4000
were seriously injured.

This sounds pretty awful to me, but then I spent 6 months
in hospital in 1968/69 as the result of an RTA so I view
it a little less dispassionately than you may.

I was talking to a woman on a train recently who had been undergoing
rehabilitation for around a decade. One of her legs seems to have been
completely shattered in an accident. I wonder whether she would have
been considered serious or not. I also wonder how the statistics are
actually collated. I did tell the hospital how I was injured- is that
how the data tends to be collected. I never gave a report, or talked to,
the police for example. I wouldn't be surprised if many accidents aren't
counted.

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

Keith W wrote:

"Mark Hewitt" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
ups.com...

"The UK has one of the best records for road safety -- it's surprising
that drivers don't hold their skills in even higher esteem."

That's easy. It's because we are constantly being told that our accident
record is awful. Even though it really isn't.



Hmm In 2003 we killed 3,508 people and injured 290,607 .

Of those fatal casualties 171 were children and another 4000
were seriously injured.

This sounds pretty awful to me, but then I spent 6 months
in hospital in 1968/69 as the result of an RTA so I view
it a little less dispassionately than you may.

I was talking to a woman on a train recently who had been undergoing
rehabilitation for around a decade. One of her legs seems to have been
completely shattered in an accident. I wonder whether she would have
been considered serious or not. I also wonder how the statistics are
actually collated. I did tell the hospital how I was injured- is that
how the data tends to be collected. I never gave a report, or talked to,
the police for example. I wouldn't be surprised if many accidents aren't
counted.

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

"chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and prestwich tesco"
wrote in message
news:1gx4b62.18o72gc1al8j0dN%this_address_is_for_s ...
Mark Hewitt wrote:

wrote in message
ups.com...

"The UK has one of the best records for road safety -- it's surprising
that drivers don't hold their skills in even higher esteem."

That's easy. It's because we are constantly being told that our accident
record is awful. Even though it really isn't.

Of course it's awful, but it's a subjective term. Just because other
countries have much worse rates doesn't make the one here 'good.' A car
is potentially a very dangerous piece of machinery. It surprises me that
the privilege of using one is often taken so lightly.

In 2003 in the UK, 3,508 people were killed in road accidents, 33,707
were seriously injured and 253,392 were slightly injured. As someone
'slightly injured' by an idiot driver in 2004 I can testify that even
slight injuries can be painful and require quite a bit of
rehabilitation- some people never fully recover.

There has been a significant reduction in deaths since the 1990s-
particularly successful has been the reduction in children being killed.


But it really isn't helping the overpopulation problem.