Category: Safety Issues

Next Thursday marks 20 years since the first Victorian Government funded TAC commercial was broadcast on television screens. You can see that ad above, which is just as powerful now as it was two decades ago.

To mark that event, and to honour the lives lost on our roads, Victorian Premier, John Brumby, is asking motorists “Shine a Light on Road Trauma” by switching on their low beam headlights.

Some 8,200 lives have been lost Victoria’s roads since the TAC campaign was launched and Brumby is asking for you to do your bit, “We need the community’s help to reduce these devastating numbers,” he said.

“Drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians can all play a part in being responsible when on the roads. I call on all Victorians to turn on their headlights on Thursday 10 December to show your commitment to reducing road trauma.”

[Source: CarAdvice]

Here, in my home town of Canberra, as well as fixed speed and red light cameras, we have mobile operators monitoring and checking the speeds of the city’s motorists. I’m sure your home town has a similar set up.

Thanks to a recent article in the City News I can tell you there are currently five of these vans in operation around the ACT. All the vans are plain white Mercedes Vito models and they usually stick out like the dog’s proverbials. The locations in which the vans can be used are mandated, although there are 120 approved sites around Canberra.

Speed cameras and their operation often creates heated debate among motorists, so its good to remove the emotion and just hear what the dude inside the van has to say.

John, the operator pictured above, says cars can be measured and photographed from as far away as one kilometre. When a photo is taken two pictures are recorded one after the other. The first focuses on the number plate, the second, taken immediately after, is a wider view which shows the car and its surroundings.

The mobile van operators have caught motorists speeding in excess of 200km/h and John says there is satisfaction in doing his job, “Absolutely, it’s good to catch them,” he says. “It happens especially around places like the Monaro Highway and we catch a lot of people around the ski season.”

Swedish company Amparo has just started UK trials of a potentially life saving technology aimed at raising awareness of school children near public roads. The system, called SeeMe, uses a transponder attached to a school bag which will trigger solar-powered road side warning lights when a child with the SeeMe system in operation is near by.

The system is already in full use across Sweden and studies there show that when SeeMe is activated drivers will decrease their speed by up to 13km/h in a 70km/h speed zone. That doesn’t sound like much, but would bring a big saving in emergency stopping distances.

Current UK trials are taking place in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where two school children were killed in 2008.

“Our experience is that the most dangerous situation is when the child is walking to or from the school or school bus, either on their way to the bus stop, crossing the road, or in connection with getting on or off the bus” says Leon Nilsson, COO of Amparo Solutions. “In each case the SeeMe® equipment can make a significant difference, in winter or summer, night or day.”

The SeeMe system appears to be a great use of simple technology that could make a significant impact on increasing road safety for all.