Jonathan Fry: Make a New Year’s Resolution to Save Lives in 2006

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Make a New Year’s Resolution to Save Lives in 2006

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Forget about joining the gym or giving up smoking – the new year’s resolution guaranteed to increase your life expectancy is to improve your driving.

Autocar magazine, in conjunction with the RAC Foundation, is calling for changes in thinking from the government and from Britain’s 32 million driving licence holders to raise driving standards.

“Rather than over concentrating on speed cameras, better driving can also play a key part in reducing the death toll on Britain’s roads. Most drivers pass their test at 17 and then drive for the rest of their lives without even thinking about re-training,“ .said Autocar editor Rob Aherne. ”Approximately 10 people are killed on our roads every day. Many drivers take pride in their cars, but if they took the same pride in their driving skills then the UK’s roads would be safer for everyone. Poor driving affects more than just the individual.”

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents states that in 95% of accidents human error is a factor and drivers with experience of advanced driver training are 20% less likely to be involved in a crash.

The Institute of Advanced Motorists goes further by claiming that drivers will be 66% less likely to cause an accident if they pass its advanced driving test.

Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation, said: ”We all need to resolve to take more pride in our driving. That can be achieved as easily as giving ourselves an extra 10 minutes for each journey to alleviate the frustration and road rage caused by congestion.

”Equally, an advanced driver-training course could open many drivers’ eyes to the hazards that they have been missing and to the tactics they can adopt to make our roads much safer. Lives would be saved if every driver had a new year’s resolution to improve their driving.”

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