Dear Editor,
One and a half million lives are lost on roadways annually and millions are left with life-changing injuries. It is estimated that at least one hundred million have died globally due to collisions with vehicles, since the manufacturing of the automobile. Two factors have been focused on as the causes of these collisions; drivers’ behaviour and safety features on vehicles. The focus has been on technological equipment in vehicles e. g. airbags, seatbelts and car seats for children. The impact that passengers experience in a vehicle after the crash came to be known as “the second collision.”
However, it is not just car design but road design that makes road accidents more fatal. The combination of a speeding vehicle, the surrounding environment, other variables e.g. road unsuitability, lampposts, structures alongside roadways, more vulnerable vehicles such as bicycles, motorcycles, less robust vehicles and pedestrians are the other factors. American communities have been designed around highways which increases the risk of collisions.
Road transport has always been conducted in relative freedom without the strict safety measures attached to train, boat and plane culture, which put a strong emphasis on the preservation of life. Those are the same as rules and enforcement attached to occupational safety. Politicians have adopted a quote similar to that of the National Rifle Association (NRA); “Cars don’t kill people, people do.” Also, the motor vehicle industry’s influence on lawmakers in relation to road culture has been significant. Maybe this is similar to the situation in Guyana where high profile people and those who can pay, escape from traffic violation charges such as riding without a helmet and tinted windows on their vehicles.
Thirty years ago in 1995, a revolutionary idea which became known as Vision Zero, was introduced into Sweden by Claes Tingvall, who had just become head of road safety for the Swedish Road Administration. He had help from many like-minded people from various backgrounds, a photographer reconstructing crashes from photographs, an engineer and Tingvall’s successor. He believed they had a moral duty to aim for zero deaths, though it might have seemed unattainable to most. One of his ideas was to introduce a median barrier made of wire rope. People thought that it was foolish to put a barrier in the middle of the road, fearing that it would cause more accidents. However, it served as a deterrent to speed and recklessness and reduced the number of accidents, especially fatal accidents. Subsequently, drivers hit the barriers instead of oncoming traffic. Excluding pedestrians from highways also encourages drivers to go faster. Protective pavements could be established to counteract that tendency. Roundabouts account for more crashes than intersections but they are less deadly, so this design could be more frequently adopted.
Tingvall’s primary aim was to significantly reduce fatal accidents.
Many measures were introduced to Vision Zero and they were quickly adopted by many countries in Europe and around the world. Internal investigations of every fatal accident similar to those in criminal investigations, were conducted. That is the reason Tingvall had a photographer as one of his primary assistants in the development of Vision Zero. The public was encouraged to submit videos of errant road-users. It was discovered that many crashes occurred with people who had made small mistakes and were not drunk or reckless, as it was usually assumed. The system had just not made any allowance for human error. There are some notable policies under Vision Zero across the Globe. In New York City, protected bike lanes were created along with post- crash medical assistance and response telephone lines were constructed. In London, lorries had to be equipped with safety permits and low traffic, safe neighbourhoods became common. In Norway, median barriers and first aid training for the public was not encouraged. In Helsinki Finland, narrow roads replaced wide ones and pavements were widened. In Bogota, Colombia, speed limits were reduced, safety school zones formed and more. It was discovered that slowing vehicles down in cities does not increase destination times but decreases fatalities. In India, first aid was made available at accident scenes.
Vision zero was enshrined by the UN, WHO and OECD as a road safety policy. In 2020, The Stockholm Declaration was agreed upon by 140 members of the UN and it aims to halve road fatalities and injuries globally by 2030. Transport designers were responsible for maintaining the road system and drivers were expected to drive responsibly and adhere to the rules. “If road users do not adequately assume their responsibility due to a lack of knowledge or skill, the system designers must take extra steps to prevent people from being killed or injured,” said Tingvall. It had previously been expected that motorists didn’t become distracted or surpass the speed limit. However, intentional law breaking was now to be considered when designing road systems. According to Tingvall, “Don’t pretend that there are laws you know everyone will follow; that’s very unprofessional.”
Many, if not most of our accidents, involve a vehicle crashing into a lamppost, animal(s), parked and unlit vehicles, roadside structures and lorries and overtaking/speeding (the world’s leading cause of accidents and deaths by motorists). Numerous, working traffic lights throughout congested Georgetown and residential and commercial districts in Guyana, would prove to be very effective in reducing recklessness, accidents and fatalities.
Of course, you need courage – a lot of courage, says Tingvall. The courage for someone in public authority to say: “This is where I draw the line between listening to politics, listening to science- and also human rights.”
Sincerely,
Conrad Barrow
