Why is not road safety treated the same way as aviation safety ?

[Lou Girardin]

Good point squeak, particularly with bikes, where the aim is to not leave skid marks.

[scumdog]

Good point squeak, particularly with bikes, where the aim is to not leave skid marks.

Especially in the Y-fronts.

[Squeak the Rat]

Interesting document attached from the National Advisor - Crash Investigations....

It explains the method for testing skid length but does not explain what is done in the case of ABS.

Of interest is page 16-18, Examples of Problems. Includes some info on motorcycles and why stats may be a bit suspect.


And quote (p18): "Enforcement is not substitute for lousy engineering" and

"It needs a society wide answer. Enforcement alone is NOT the answer to reducing the road toll"


Still - Does any one know how they measure when ABS is involved? And how many reported accidents are just the attending officers opinion about the involvement of speed?

[Ixion]

A good many years ago I had a big argument with a cop about this (can't remember whether it was a traffic cop or a policeplod -- it was back in the days of MoT , but for some reason my memory insists it was a plod - grey car).

Came steaming down a decentish curvey hill , traffic behind and in front. Car two or three in front goes round corner, oops theres a plonker on the wrong side of road. Bang. Car two in front of me locks his wheels up, screeeech-BANG. Car in front of me locks HIS wheels up --- screech . I throw out the best bower , and hear a screeeech from BEHIND me.

Oh -oh, I'm sure I can stop , but what about Percy Plonker behind me? Can HE stop? I don't fancy being a Velo sandwich.

So I steered and braked my self to the left, stopped sort of in the ditch up against a bank , a bit short of the rear of the (crashed) car in front of me, which had hit the bank sideways-headish on. And watched Percy Plonker behind me slide past, all wheels locked , and hit the car which had been in front of me. Oh, golly, glad I wasn't there.

Anyway, Plod turns up, and goes anal apeshit about measuring everybodys skid marks. With a tape measure. Insists everybody was speeding.

Comes to me

" What were you doing , how come you are not damaged, where were you?"
"Between him and him. I stopped, so I'm not crumpled".
"But the guy you *claim* (very sneering) was behind you crashed into the car in front. If you managed to stop so quickly why don't I see a motorcycle tyre marks on the road?".
"Cos I didn't lock the wheels"
"Well if you didn't lock the wheel you weren't braking as hard as you could".
"- Uh, rubbish"
Insert much argument.
"Well, say what you will, fact is I'm the only one NOT to leave a skid mark, and I'm the only one NOT crumpled" .

[Lou Girardin]

OK, I know zip about physics. But surely a light car with wide sticky tyres will stop shorter from a given speed than a heavy car on (relatively) narrow rubber.