Britain's government is stagnating gains in road safety

Something that's always interesting for me to follow are the continuing developments in road safety policy in Britain. When I first put pedal to the metal here over three years ago, it always struck me how sensible people's approach to driving was. The standard of education seemed quite high. But what is also fascinating (and disturbing) is the speed with which these standards of consideration and personal responsibility seem to be falling, due in large part to punitive, automated road safety initiatives. As the government's emphasis on road safety shifts from using proper care, judgement and consideration to merely making sure we don't exceed a posted speed limit, people's definition of what constitutes safe driving is being altered to reflect this new minimum standard.

The result? With falling numbers of real traffic police patroling the roads, and a rising numbers of speed cameras, the idea that 'as long as I'm not speeding, anything else goes' is becoming more and more prevalent. Actions that can't be easily caught by stationay, automated cameras, such as tailgating, poor lane discipline and inconsiderate road use are now going unnoticed and unpunished. Since it's carelessness and poor judgement that directly contributes to more than nine out of ten accidents, it's ridiculous that roads safety policy should mainly be geared toward trying to enforce speed limits at arbitrary locations. Some interesting and thoroughly-researched info on this topic can be found here.

Infinite driving fun for £150

It's probably not a good idea to leave blogs idle for so long, but I think it's the idea that it seems a bit redundant next to my main project, Raadius; it's causing me to place it rather lower on my list of priorities. This is not a sound justification for a whole host of reasons, I know, but I'll be making more of an effort to keep it fresh.

It's not as if nothing's happened. At the start of December, I attended a trackday at Brands Hatch circuit in England's South East; it was also the first trackday I've ever attended. To say it was a totally absorbing, exhillerating rush is to scratch the descriptive surface of what was the most thrilling day of my motoring life so far. It was a huge rush to be able to consistently push the car to the limits of adhesion - and a few times, beyond! If you want to know more about the day, you can go here.

And the best part is, you do not need a modified sports car or loads of cash to enjoy yourself, and you don't have to be a skillful racing god, either. If anyone reading this blog has considered doing a trackday but got the impression they weren't accessible (or incredibly friendly and professionally-run) I urge you to have a look at what's on offer in your area, and book a day. You'll be waxing on about it for weeks after. In fact, you can yammer about it in the forum I set up for just such a thing.