Friday, October 28, 2005
Safest Roads in Britain
South Tyneside's roads - safest in the country
A survey published by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy claims that South Tyneside has the lowest recorded number of deaths and injuries caused by road accidents. At 24 people killed/seriously injured per 100,000 of population we are almost seven times safer than Westminster.
Naturally in "Spin City" some nice official has penned suitable words for the Leader of the Council, Paul Waggott - "We have worked very hard to reduce road accidents, injuries, and fatalities and these figures show that our policies have been very effective"
Of course none of us can remember reading of any life saving policy in New Labour's last manifesto!
Cllr. Michael Clare, the Lead Member for Neighbourhood Services added - "The Council takes the issue of road safety very seriously and I am delighted that our roads are officially the safest in Britain"
There are some things that we ought to challenge here, firstly, how does a study by the Audit Commission become labelled as official? Secondly, we need to analyse how many major roads pass right through our town? The answer is none, South Shields is not a place you can drive through or pass through, it sits in a corner with the River Tyne to the north and the North Sea to the east, it's a town that needs to be driven into, before you turn around and drive out of it! Thirdly, if there is a study made of the number of road humps and sleeping policemen per mile of public highway, we might be lucky and come out on top again! It's impossible for motorists to exceed 20 mph in the majority of our streets, generally pedestrians travel faster!
Thirdly, our roads are far less congested than those of the capital or other major conurbations, and because of our poorer economy, we probably have fewer car owners per 100,000 of population as well.
The final thing to challenge is Cllr. Clare's statement, if his "spin doctor" wishes us to believe that the Council takes road safety so seriously, can he tell us why it took almost six months to paint five yards worth of parking bays and erect two parking restriction notices at Laygate?
_________________________________________________________________
A survey published by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy claims that South Tyneside has the lowest recorded number of deaths and injuries caused by road accidents. At 24 people killed/seriously injured per 100,000 of population we are almost seven times safer than Westminster.
Naturally in "Spin City" some nice official has penned suitable words for the Leader of the Council, Paul Waggott - "We have worked very hard to reduce road accidents, injuries, and fatalities and these figures show that our policies have been very effective"
Of course none of us can remember reading of any life saving policy in New Labour's last manifesto!
Cllr. Michael Clare, the Lead Member for Neighbourhood Services added - "The Council takes the issue of road safety very seriously and I am delighted that our roads are officially the safest in Britain"
There are some things that we ought to challenge here, firstly, how does a study by the Audit Commission become labelled as official? Secondly, we need to analyse how many major roads pass right through our town? The answer is none, South Shields is not a place you can drive through or pass through, it sits in a corner with the River Tyne to the north and the North Sea to the east, it's a town that needs to be driven into, before you turn around and drive out of it! Thirdly, if there is a study made of the number of road humps and sleeping policemen per mile of public highway, we might be lucky and come out on top again! It's impossible for motorists to exceed 20 mph in the majority of our streets, generally pedestrians travel faster!
Thirdly, our roads are far less congested than those of the capital or other major conurbations, and because of our poorer economy, we probably have fewer car owners per 100,000 of population as well.
The final thing to challenge is Cllr. Clare's statement, if his "spin doctor" wishes us to believe that the Council takes road safety so seriously, can he tell us why it took almost six months to paint five yards worth of parking bays and erect two parking restriction notices at Laygate?
About Me
Curly Born in 1956
Sanddancer
Sunderland fan
Male
Retailer
Former Borough Councillor
View my Profile
Contact
Email Curly
south-shields AT
blueyonder DOT co DOT uk
Got a story?
Got a tip off?
Got some scandal?
Let me know!
07941386870
Search
Search this site
Comments
How do I make a comment on this blog?
Links
Curly's Corner Shop website
Curly's Photoshop
My Message Board
Shields photo gallery
RTG Message Board
Sunderland AFC Blog
Site Feed
Blogroll Me!
Past
December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007