Comments on: No need for witnesses

By: individual health insurance,

individual health insurance, — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:25:07 +0000

I hope the police will not abuse their power against the drivers,,

By: boston movers

boston movers — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:47:05 +0000

An error is always an error.. no excuses.. A little error will always cause a accident especially in the road..

By: mark.

mark. — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:37:24 +0000

I have a similar view. The UK government, police 'et al' are currently being complacent about road deaths, as this article shows re: Great Britain slipping down the European road safety table.

The UK once had roads that were the safer than any of our European neighbours. This is no longer the case - and that problem needs tackling now.

mark.

By: Lee

Lee — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:31:50 +0000

raising fines & punishments is not a very effective tool for traffic management. You can raise the fine for speeding – but people will still speed anyway if the road is designed for higher speeds. You have to change the infrastructure. Curbs don't stop lorries. Bollards do. A bumpy brick path will result in lower speeds than a smoothly paved street. We could also discourage use of lorries and cars in favor of bikes and rail, for both transit and cargo.

By: DavidHembrow

DavidHembrow — Sun, 10 May 2009 22:05:28 +0000

Of course, it's the same rule over here in NL too. Motorists have to prove a lack of responsibility. They are expected to take care with their dangerous vehicle around vulnerable road users. It's not “unfair” or “anti-car”, it's simply behaving in a civilized way.

It doesn't, of course, mean that Dutch drivers behave perfectly. In fact, while they seem a bit better inside residential areas, I don't think they behave very differently elsewhere. The much better safety of cyclists here vs. the UK is due to the infrastructure differences, not due to training of drivers or cyclists.

By: Jeannette Holman-Price

Jeannette Holman-Price — Sat, 09 May 2009 23:00:27 +0000

Our daughter Jessica attended the Royal School Armagh, Northern Ireland…but needed to return to Canada to be her (aging – she thought) parents. 18 months later – she is killed. A “routine traffic fatality”. Jessica was at a pedestrian crossing on the sidewalk, with a green light in her favour – a 12 wheel lorry mounted the sidewalk and took her life. Not before she had time to save her young brother (London born – Peter Luc). Under Quebec (Canada)'s insurance scheme (Reward scheme)…the driver was AWARDED with 90% of his salary while the family struggle with the senseless death of their beautiful daughter and sister. Peter Luc, then 10, was hit in the head by this massive vehicle and the family also are left to fund more than 60% of the cost of his rehabilitation. …..for more information you can read the story at http://www.thejessicacampaign.com. I FULLY SUPPORT YOUR SYSTEM – and would like to add my name to your list of supporters.

By: Christopher Ray Miller

Christopher Ray Miller — Sat, 09 May 2009 22:41:04 +0000

I can't help wondering if it might be possible to challenge this discrimination against the vulnerable on the basis of equal protection before the law. In countries with constitutional or legal rights charters like the US and Canada, this is a quite plausible weapon in changing the way the laws are framed and enforced. In Britain, with its more patchwork constitution based as much on custom as on written law, it seems less clear to me how this works. Is equal protection before the law enshrined in customary law or guaranteed by any international instruments the UK has ratified, such as the UN rights conventions or EU human rights laws?

By: McNeill Family » No need for witnesses

McNeill Family » No need for witnesses — Sat, 09 May 2009 22:27:21 +0000

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By: WestfieldWanderer

WestfieldWanderer — Sat, 09 May 2009 22:24:14 +0000

What is proposed here has been law in France for decades, and as far as I'm aware, it's law in most other EU countries. As you say, when it was proposed for Britain a few years ago the Clarksons and Daily Fascist brigade went ballistic.
My solution. Move to France.

George Monbiot has similar views to us.