Active travel faces many barriers. One is our perceptions of a safety, or fear. As a society, we seem to be getting more fearful. Our perceptions of safety are important. Psychology and neuroscience has come a long way to explaining our nature. The availability cascade is a contributing factor in our perception of risk.
Category Archives: safety
Making our cities feel safe so that we are encouraged to cycle and walk instead of taking the car.
Protecting vulnerable road users: Hansard 22 June 2021
Jo Clay MLA introduced an amendment to the Transport Act to encourage motorists to show more concern for vulnerable road users. The effect of the bill would be to increase the fine, but her speech was of a more general nature and sheds light on her thinking.
Black is black: Spot the human being on 2 wheels!
No matter what you might think – or tell yourself and others – you wear black, dark navy blue or dark grey and you will be very, very had to see! And, no, this is absolutely not about victim blaming! That would be much too easy. This is about many years of studying physiology, psychology, human factors, and neuropsychology.
Slowing down: we know it but do not fix it
Safer walking and cycling is most easily achieved by reducing traffic speed. We have known this for over a decade but do too little to curb road speeds. Here is an excellent report that is as relevant as it was in 2008.
Poor quality scooters are dangerous
Warnings of the dangers of scooters is ongoing. It is a combination of poor product quality, pilot errors and the unfavourable environment in which they operate. Multiple tests on scooters point to reoccurring issues of scooter safety. This is manifesting itself in injuries to the riders.
Section 4.8 Measuring cycling safety
More needs to be done about cycling safety, and it starts with reporting accidents. For road cyclists, this is how.
Riding to school in the snow
It is not the cold that stops kids from riding to school but the lack of safe infrastructure. All parents are concerned about their children’s safety. In Finland, children will ride to school on snow in subzero all year round. Clearly, the cold does not hold them back. Without a separated bike path and swept bike paths, it would not happen.
Section 4.5 Pyrrhic victories in road safety
In making roads better for cars we have made an environment hostile to people and in particular children.
Excessive speed takes its toll in Narrabundah
Speeding motorists endanger the lives of primary school children in Narrabundah. Concern is growing that it is just a matter of time before a child is killed in Narrabundah as a result of excessive speed on the roads.
Traffic calming is everywhere in the Netherlands: Not Just Bikes
Streets should be designed on the assumption that people make mistakes and to minimise the resulting consequences of those mistakes. Traffic calming should be built into every street. It should not be possible to drive faster than the speed limit. Remember: behaviour follows infrastructure!
