A response from Mike Rawson (retired Traffic Sargent) to letter from National Highways Road Safety Director.
“I’m just trying to get over my anger after reading the letter from The Director of Road Safety at National Highways.
The final paragraph of her letter is the
thing that angers me most, ‘We would like to assure you that safety is at the forefront of every decision we make and we are committed to the safety of everyone who USES OUR ROADS’ – complete and utter nonsense, of course.
The ROADS are NOT the property of National Highways – they belong to the people of this country, the taxpayers who pay for them, and National Highways is simply an agency WE employ to construct and maintain them.
I will be emailing this individual with my thoughts and I doubt she will be pleased to read my comments (I also thought her opening paragraph was patronising – she, and all at the top of National Highways, couldn’t give a toss about those who have lost loved ones in such horrific , unnecessary and violent circumstances).
If they are in any way concerned they WOULD NOT SAVE REMOVED THE MOST IMPORTANT SAFETY FEATURE (the hard shoulder) IN THE FIRST PLACE.
In today’s Daily Mail the headline is, PERIL OF SMART MOTORWAYS WITHOUT A SAFETY LANE – the article simply confirms what we have known for years ‘KSI tragedies have increased for three out of five schemes with five years worth of safety data since having their hard shoulder removed’.
The final paragraph is a quote from Edmund King at the AA – ‘The hard shoulder needs to be reinstated or at the very least the number of Emergency Areas needs to be radically increased’.
One would hope that a person in his position would be able to grasp the very simple fact – A BROKEN DOWN VEHICLE CANNOT BE DRIVEN TO AN EMERGENCY AREA AND MUST REMAIN STATIONARY IN A LIVE LANE USED BY VEHICLES TRAVELLING AT VERY HIGH SPEED.”
Kind regards
Mike
Unfortunately the letter itself can not be uploaded due to a long footnote contain words like confidentially, inteded recieptant, etc, etc
As ridiculously dangerous as these motorways are for able bodied people, imagine how much more dangerous they are for disabled motorists and/or disabled passengers. So much for the safety of ALL road users.