Anti Speed, Seatbelt, Drink Driving Campaign Commercials.

I am planning on keeping this topic alive as long as possible, obviously I need everyones help on this. This is not about Stars and Flags Stature or Status, this is simply about saving lives and raising road safety awareness.

What I would like is people to report back and let me know if this Thread played it's part, did it make you think e.g. You took action and slowed down preventing a possible accident.... You decided not to overtake the vehicle in front on a bad bend or whatever and it saved you from a accident.

I want to get a rough idea of how effective these commercials are.

Maybe together we can think of something that will be even more effective, maybe have people speaking of a loved ones they lost due to a Road Traffic Accident and what it's like now they have gone, who they have left behind as so forth.



[edit on 9-3-2010 by NotAgain]

reply to post by ImaginaryReality1984


My father is also a truck driver "Ridged" and yes they are normally very experienced aware drivers, but with many they have the "King of the Road" attitude. Sometimes when they are not even in their truck, time after time I have to remind my dad he is in his car and there is no reason to be so close to the car in front "Almost forcing them out the way" Normally on the motorway in the middle lane getting annoyed at Mr Slow, I'm like "Dad you can go in the fast lane, you are in your car lol"

Also lets not forger going to slow can also cause an accident, especially on motorways in the middle lane...

reply to post by NotAgain


I don't mind talking about my driving skills . . . . they are VERY GOOD and VERY BAD! LOL!

Only one of my accidents has been on the motorcycle, and it was no fault of my own. A man didn't see me and he pulled out of a parking spot directly into my bike as I drove past.

As for the other crashes, about 1/2 of them were not my fault. 5 or 6 of them happened with me sitting quietly at a red light!

As I mentioned before several of the accidents were entirely my fault, I was distracted and didn't notice a car stopping in front of me, or I allowed my car to drift to far onto the shoulder, etc.

Now, back to my main point . . . . . Never . Not Once was speed a factor, nor alcohol. I do speed.....I have driven drunk. . . . . but I have never crashed that way. The vast majority of crashes happen at low speed in traffic and near our own homes or work places. It is mis-information to blame traffic accidents on speed, and it is junk science to blame it on alcohol!

Sure, sometimes a very drunk person causes an accident. Sure sometimes an accident happens for a number of reasons and alcohol "was a contributing factor." That terminology is important, because in most cases it was not the deciding factor. Therefore a prosecuting attorney does not want it listed as such, because it will get beaten in court. Alcohol is very seldom the "main" factor in a crash.

As for taking me off the road. The Missouri DMV took care of that for a couple of years! I haven't had an accident that was my fault in many many years, and I am now a "safe driver" according to my Florida License!

reply to post by getreadyalready


Alcohol is a very huge factor in RTA's you are very lucky to be here to share your experience.

reaction time
vision
tracking
concentration
comprehension
coordination

Are all deeply effected by Drinking, Drink Drivers normally take risks the wouldn't normally take.

Lets have a look at some USA statistics then........

Driving under influence of alcohol has become one of the common feature and cause of accidents today. As per studies carried out by NHTSA in 2006, Alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents under influence of alcohol kill someone every 31 minutes and injure someone every two minutes in US alone.

In 2005, 16,885 people died in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes, accounting for 39% of all traffic-related deaths in the United States (NHTSA 2006).

In 2006 there were 17,941 driving fatalities related to alcohol. This was 41 percent of the total 43,000 fatalities.

An alcohol-related motor vehicle crash kills someone every 31 minutes and nonfatally injures someone every two minutes (NHTSA 2006).

Drugs other than alcohol (e.g., marijuana and coc aine) are involved in about 18% of motor vehicle driver deaths. These other drugs are generally used in combination with alcohol (Jones et al. 2003).Source

I'm not quiet sure what point you want to make here, do you want an applause for your Drink Driving abilities (because you won't get one here) I just hope you have learned from the past and avoid alcohol whist in control of a vehicle, and if you do drink drive I hope you don't carry passengers. It's one thing to risk your own life but risking others is another story. Just drive safe man, nobody wans to see you ending up as just another statistic.

reply to post by getreadyalready


30 accidents by your own admission, 1/2 were not your fault (i would argue that after your statements but i'll let it go) which means 15 were your fault and yet you expect us to listen to your advice on safe driving?

Sorry but i don't ask an active drug user how to stay off of drugs.

reply to post by ImaginaryReality1984


I don't understand why my point is not getting through? I am not giving driving advice. I am not claiming to be the best driver here. I am speaking from experience and statistics. If someone like me that admittedly is a speeder, and admittedly has driven at many levels of intoxication, and admittedly has had a lot of accidents, if somebody like me has never once had an accident as a result of speed or alcohol, then maybe we should look twice at the published statistics.

As I said before, sure alcohol is a contributing factor in a lot of crashes, but that is a result of heightened awareness and relentless testing for alcohol. There is some level of intoxication that makes you very dangerous, but the level is not 0.08. At 0.08 alcohol is less significant than average fatigue, or average eye strain, or any number of distractions such as radio, tv, food, drink, chewing tobacco, etc.

The same can be said for speed. Of course there is some level of speed that causes a car to go out of control, but the level is different from vehicle to vehicle, road to road, and driver to driver. I gave the analogy of a 25 year old truck with worn tires and loose steering parts. I have 15 years experience in the auto repair industry, and the majority of vehicles out there have worn tires, worn steering parts, worn brakes, worn suspension, and bad alignment. In that condition, their performance even at low speeds is significantly worse than a vehicle in good repair at excessive speeds. The speed is not the main contributing factor.

My point is that Speeding Tickets and DUIs are both BIG revenue generators. The auto and insurance industries have lobbied and removed most safety inspections. The main contributing factor of the most common crashes is ignored, because it isn't "marketing friendly." Fast food drive throughs, poor car repair, tired drivers, CD/DVD players, cell phones, poor traffic flow or signage, etc., etc. These are the "main" and most common causes of crashes, but Speed and Alcohol make better videos and generate more revenue for Mayberry Police. I thought this was a Conspiracy site?

I am offering my experience honestly and openly and for some reason it is easier to attack me as a driver, even when I agree with you?

Originally posted by NotAgain
Lets have a look at some USA statistics then........

Driving under influence of alcohol has become one of the common feature and cause of accidents today. As per studies carried out by NHTSA in 2006, Alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents under influence of alcohol kill someone every 31 minutes and injure someone every two minutes in US alone.

In 2005, 16,885 people died in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes, accounting for 39% of all traffic-related deaths in the United States (NHTSA 2006).

In 2006 there were 17,941 driving fatalities related to alcohol. This was 41 percent of the total 43,000 fatalities.

An alcohol-related motor vehicle crash kills someone every 31 minutes and nonfatally injures someone every two minutes (NHTSA 2006).

Drugs other than alcohol (e.g., marijuana and coc aine) are involved in about 18% of motor vehicle driver deaths. These other drugs are generally used in combination with alcohol (Jones et al. 2003).Source

The statistics that you quote are crap. They are a product of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and MADD. These numbers are distorted and in some cases entirely made up. My personal favorite is the term "alcohol related". If a sober driver jumps the curb and hits a pedestrian and the pedestrian has any measureable amount of alcohol in their system it is considered "alcohol related". If I am a intoxicated passenger in a car with a sober designated driver and we are in an accident it is "alcohol related". There's big business in those numbers. The NHTSA parades these numbers in front of Congress during budget time so that they can inflate the statistics and obtain more funding. MADD goes along because they are given grants from NHTSA. Local law enforcement is in on it, because they too are the recipients of grant money from both MADD and NHTSA. Local and State governments are there too, where do you think the fine money goes?

DUI Blog

reply to post by JIMC5499


Finally!

Thank God there are some CS and independent thinkers left.

Thanks Jim

reply to post by JIMC5499



It was the first link when I did a Google search, I am from the UK myself there was no point posting UK stats to an American Driver. The stats looked reliable, obviously not... So do you care to post stats that are?

I understand what you are saying about the "Alcohol Related" incidents, but without a shadow of a doubt Drinking & Driving is a huge contributor to road traffic accidents around the world. People saying "I didn't crash when I was drinking or speeding" makes me think one thing "Idiot"

There is no excuse, simple as.

As for fines, they will keep fining people until the message gets across. I also couldn't give a monkeys where the money goes, probably buys Coffee and Doughnuts for the boys in blue. Good on em I say, In reality though the money probably helps pay for the brilliant job the emergency service's do.. personally I would use the fine money to take irresponsible divers on a trip to the morgue to see where Drink Drivers,Speeders, Irresponsible Drivers end up.



[edit on 9-3-2010 by NotAgain]

reply to post by getreadyalready


They set speed limits for a reason, one of the main reasons being "Stopping distance"





Especially in built up areas where there is more chance of pedestrians crossing the road, remember not everyone is sat behind a few ton of metal.

Seems Australia and the UK are the ones putting this message out there.

If your car is not in road worthy condition that is the Drivers fault, how many people check their cars regularly.. e.g. Tyres, Breaks, Lights, Seatbelts, Fluid levels.... All basic checks that take minuets and you don't have to be a mechanic. In the UK if you have a RTA as a result of an unsafe vehicle, investigators will find out and action will be taken.

[edit on 9-3-2010 by NotAgain]

Originally posted by NotAgain
reply to post by JIMC5499

 

It was the first link when I did a Google search, I am from the UK myself there was no point posting UK stats to an American Driver. The stats looked reliable, obviously not... So do you care to post stats that are?

I understand what you are saying about the "Alcohol Related" incidents, but without a shadow of a doubt Drinking & Driving is a huge contributor to road traffic accidents around the world. People saying "I didn't crash when I was drinking or speeding" makes me think one thing "Idiot"

I wish I could post accurate stats. The problem is that they all are tainted.
Both DUI and speeding tickets are a big money maker here in the US. We have sudden changes in speed limits, absurdedly low speed limits and BS DUI laws. All of these are designed to make money for the local governments. I take it from your posts that you lost somebody in an accident. I am sorry to hear that. I'm not sure what the traffic laws are in the UK. I do know that in the US our traffic laws are rmore evenue generators for the Government than for safety. We actually have governments reducing yellow light times so that more people run red lights in intersections with cameras.

Originally posted by NotAgain
reply to post by JIMC5499

 

It was the first link when I did a Google search, I am from the UK myself there was no point posting UK stats to an American Driver. The stats looked reliable, obviously not... So do you care to post stats that are?

I understand what you are saying about the "Alcohol Related" incidents, but without a shadow of a doubt Drinking & Driving is a huge contributor to road traffic accidents around the world. People saying "I didn't crash when I was drinking or speeding" makes me think one thing "Idiot"

I wish I could post accurate stats. The problem is that they all are tainted.
Both DUI and speeding tickets are a big money maker here in the US. We have sudden changes in speed limits, absurdedly low speed limits and BS DUI laws. All of these are designed to make money for the local governments. I take it from your posts that you lost somebody in an accident. I am sorry to hear that. I'm not sure what the traffic laws are in the UK. I do know that in the US our traffic laws are rmore evenue generators for the Government than for safety. We actually have governments reducing yellow light times so that more people run red lights in intersections with cameras.

reply to post by JIMC5499


Thankfully I haven't lost anyone due to an RTA, However I spend a lot of time on the road and It pains me to see the unnecessary loss of human life. Some of the things I have seen will stay with me the rest of my life, I can't even imagine what the families of the victims are going through.

Day to day I see people risking lives, and why? Because they are late for work or couldn't turn down the challenge of somebody wanting to prove who has the best car, or who is the best driver. Or somebody who simply said "I have only had 2 drinks, I'm fine to drive"

I know there are a million other things that contribute to RTA's but Drink/Speeding/Irresponsible driving covers most of RTA's worldwide. A large proportion of the Road Deaths are a result of people not waring seatbelts, but at a guess these figures are far far lower than what they used to be. I admit however Car manufactures could do more to stop this.. e.g. The car is immobilized unless seatbelts are worn.

In the UK we have speed cameras everywhere, we have speed bumps everywhere. If just one of these cameras/bumps saves one life "It's worth it" however there is the money making issue regarding these cameras over here "Just like in the US" I would personally like to see the money going to the families of loved ones who have been victim of the drivers in question.

Plus there is the fact that people "Suddenly Break" when they see these cameras, even though there should be no reason to. In my opinion they only temporary slow speeders, Red Light cams are a huge danger in my eyes. It's Russian roulette with them things Break or Speed up...... A simple solution to Red lights would be to have a pre-warning set of lights before the lights in question, especially on high speed roads.

[edit on 10-3-2010 by NotAgain]