Letter of the week

Dear Sir,

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (letters, 6 December) argues that as a result of improvements in design, 4 x 4s “score well against other vehicle types” for safety.-

But there is evidence that motorists aware of the higher levels of crashworthiness take less care in such “safer” vehicles. Add the greater weight of SUVs (with additional destructive energy unleashed in crashes) become more dangerous for all the rest of us on the roads.

Higher levels of safety can be achieved through a variety of methods: on-board speed governors activated by roadside beacons to automatically control vehicle speed. “Black box” recorders in vehicles, opened with a magistrates warrant after collisions to establish their cause, can be easily installed.

Above all, a cultural change would recognise that real road safety is about controlling the ability of some road users to endanger others, rather than a law of the jungle whereby the most dangerous are encouraged to become even less careful in the name of “safety”.

Dr. Robert Davis
Principal Policy Advisor, Road Danger Reduction Forum