The great ‘road safety’ farce

'Road safety' is an ideology devoted to evading the problems of road carnage. Instead of its addressing its root causes – vehicles designed to exceed the speed limit and a casual attitude on the part of the institutions of the state to the reckless use of dangerous machinery - road safety campaigns divert the focus on to ‘education’ and blaming the victim. Instead of 'road safety' what we need is 'danger reduction', i.e. addressing the source of the danger.

‘Road safety’ is an ideology shaped by the car and road lobby. Here’s the latest crap example.

DRIVERS are being asked to ‘Look Out for Bikes’ in a road safety initiative aimed at reducing the number of bikers being killed and injured on Somerset roads.

During the next couple of months as the weather gets warmer, more and more cyclists and motorcyclists will be taking to the roads.

The Somerset Road Safety Partnership is asking drivers to double check for bikers when pulling out from a junction or turning.

The campaign has been sparked by statistics showing that during the past three years more than 1,000 motorcyclists and cyclists have been injured on roads around the county.

The partnership has launched a poster campaign to remind drivers to ‘Look Out for Bikes’ on increasingly busy roads.

Riders are also being advised to wear the correct helmet and bright protective clothing so they can be clearly seen by other road users.