By
EWAN KENNEDY
10 September 2007
Why are governments so keen to keep motorists in the dark in
important things like road safety? In particular in causing distraction
on the road.
I’m on the record as saying that inattention causes
far more crashes than low-end speeding, yet our governments continue to
concentrate on the latter and ignore just about everything else. The
trouble is that no-one has yet invented a distraction camera to come up
with exact figures.
Drivers who are trying to navigate their way through
unfamiliar areas must be one of the primary causes of crashes. It only
takes a second or so of inattention while we look for some clue as to
just where we are for an unexpected situation to arise – then all hell
can break loose and a possible tragedy may occur in a moment.
Far too few streets have name signs on them. When there
are signs they can be just about anywhere; on the side of a building, on
top of a pole, stuck on distracting advertising hoardings. It’s all
far too haphazard.
Why can’t there be street name signs in the same
location at every intersection? Then drivers would know exactly where to
look. We would take our eyes off the road for the shortest possible time
and greatly reduce the risk of hitting something.
I would suggest that they can be atop all traffic light
posts, and at a similar height on posts at an identical position on
every, repeat every, intersection.
OK, it can be argued that a driver should ideally not be
looking for signs whilst on the move. They should instead stop, and get
out of the car if need be, to find which street they are in. The chances
of that happening in real life? I would estimate approximately zero…
Having signs in the same spot on every single
intersection, no matter how small the crossroad wouldn’t be too hard
to engineer. Not only would it prevent distraction, it would also save
people from getting lost, and lost drivers can be one of the most
hazardous things on our roads.
Local and State government authorities have been
approached about this vital matter many times in the past. Their
standard excuse is that it’s too expensive to put the signs on every
corner, therefore they only put them at the start and finish of most
streets. With some longer streets getting a few intermediate signs in a
pretty haphazard manner.
Yet the same authorities always seem to be able to find
the money for an abundance of traffic-hindering devices, such as speed
humps and endless roundabouts. Items that are far more expensive to
install than street signs.
May I respectfully suggest that more crashes are caused
by lost drivers looking for non-existent name signs, than are prevented
by deliberately putting big bumps in the middle of just about every
suburban back street in every city in Australia?
ewan@marque.com.au
