Morning all - and reassuring to see the resumption of daily postings from our Canary friend Sunny north west London is less than sunny and a bit damp but the conditions for my weekly park run were rather pleasant in comparison to recent weeks! I'm not going to the match - had hoped to go with my sister in law and three nieces but they cannot go and don't really want to go on my own. I hope those of you going enjoy it and that everyone else has a happy and restful weekend regardless of what they do.
Just read in DT that Marvin Sordell retired from football due to racial abuse. He was only 28 and had more to offer so this is a sad reflection on the game. He said he wants to help others with similar problems. I wish him well.
Morning all. Clear blue sky and a good temperature to do some outside jobs. It looked as though we had quite a decent amount of rain yesterday, but I will not know just how much until I have checked out my water butts down the fields. At least the ground should be suitable to put some plants in, and with additional mulching I might be able to keep them growing. Enjoy your day whatever you plan to do.
Good day all... been a childrens museum with two year old today..... summer holidays + raain = teeming kids....
Morning all. On gardening duties and rabbit minding while my daughter and family go to England and Wales for a couple of weeks. My 15 year old granddaughter is not impressed with having to go as it means that her driving lessons have to stop. A lengthy programme starting at school where they do the written exam, moving on to a driving school for actually getting behind the wheel, then driving with a parent if they have a car. It is a long progression to actually getting a license when they pass a test and can drive on their own at 18, but even then there are restrictions such as a maximum speed that can lose a license if you break the law.
Until excessive speed becomes socially unacceptable the horrendous death and injury numbers in France will remain high.
Figures do not support your argument. The speed limit on secondary roads was cut from 90 kph to 80kph, and the accident rate actually increased. Split your figures down and there is no difference between French autoroutes and English motorways. Almost half of people killed in accidents are not even in cars, but on a bike or a pedestrian. If you are in an urban area, walking and over 65 years old you are the most likely to be involved in an accident. Unless you are claiming that speed walking should be banned I am not sure what you are trying to prove.
The French PM recently put a slight lowering of the extremely high death rate down to the reduction in the speed limit. The UK comparison is roughly half 35% down in the last 10 years. Unfortunately there has been a dramatic increase this year in deaths on French roads which has been blamed on 60% of speed cameras being put out of action by the yellow vest movement.
What's behind the steep rise in road deaths in France? - The Localhttps://www.thelocal.fr/20190328/whats-behind-the-steep-rise-in-road-deaths-in-france
Your article refers to two months this year, whereas the increase had already started since last July when the speed limit was lowered. Northants police do not have a single working speed camera in the county, yet the accident rate is no worse than anywhere else in England.
Your conclusions differ greatly from those of your French government, they clearly blame excessive speed. You are out of date about Northants speed cameras, many have been switched back on.
The speed cameras in Northants that are working are on the M1 where all the revenue goes straight to the government. Research by Road Safety Analysis concluded "the switching off of road speed cameras in Northamptonshire has made no difference to the number of accidents".
Of course there are still many mobile cameras in operation. You need to take up your differing views with the French government who have all of the detailed figures at their disposal.
I lived in rural Gaillac and on the edge of Toulouse. I was always amazed how unnecessarily fast our French friends and neighbours drove. It seemed crazy when the general pace of life is much slower. I witnessed even worse driving in Sorrento last year, overtaking on bends, etc. Maybe the further south you go the more dangerous driving becomes?
You may be right on the north south divide SH. with the exception of Spain which has relatively safe roads - measured on deaths per 100,000 population. The safest European roads (measured in this way) are in Switzerland and Norway, followed very closely by Sweden. Research in Sweden has shown that high driving speeds increases the death rate, but slightly lower the overall accident rate. If cars are driving slowly then they are more likely to be close to each other, which increases the chance of accidents but - they are less fatal. Other studies in Canada have shown that the highest number of deaths there was in August, but the lowest in February - which rather raises the question of what, exactly, good driving conditions are. Britain also has some of the most congested roads in Europe - and, it is a fact, that when traffic increases then road accident deaths drop dramatically.
