It’s official: trees are better than speed cameras
An experiment in four Norfolk villages has found that the presence of trees and hedges along the roadside has affected the behaviour of drivers. The introduction of trees to the villages of Overstrand, Martham, Coltishall and Mundesley resulted in lower speeds, because drivers found their peripheral vision to be reduced. Over the course of the experiment, there was a 20%
fall in the number of motorists driving at speeds between 40mph and 60mph, with overall average speeds decreasing by 1.5%. The trees were also considered to be a more sympathetic
traffic calming measure in a rural environment than those methods used in urban settings. Indeed, parish councils, during consultations with the Department for Transport, have said that the trees, in addition to reducing speeding, have also improved the landscape.
Lightmare campaign picks up support
The Lightmare campaign – which has been set up to pressure the government into reconsidering the use of Daytime Running Lights and amend the MOT regulations on the testing of Bi-xenon headlights to avoid excessive dazzle – has been gathering further support since its launch at the start of the year. The media has picked up the campaign, including coverage on the BBC and a poll on the Autoblog website, which found that 90% of the 13,236 respondents thought that HID headlights were dangerous. Representatives from the DIA and Lightmare have also taken part in the recording of a television programme featuring the topic. Ken Perham from Lightmare said: “I never expected to get a positive response on this scale.” For further information, and to sign the
petition to support the campaign, visit:
www.lightmare.org.
Road safety minister Mike Penning has complimented
the trial, saying: “The success of Norfolk’s roadside tree- planting scheme proves that it is possible to use imaginative solutions to cut speeding on rural roads leading into villages, rather than just resorting to cameras. “I hope that other councils will be inspired by the success
of this scheme and consider whether they might be able to use similar programmes to reduce road casualties on their rural roads.” Andrew Howard, the AA’s head of road safety, explained
the success of the scheme by saying that drivers slowed down when they could see less of the road ahead. “If visibility is too good cars are more likely to overtake when it is not safe to do so. “Poor visibility can lead to rear-end shunts, because
drivers can’t see the road ahead.Well planted trees can strike a happy medium.”
TomTom competition – the winner!
Congratulations to Donna Watson, from Carnforth, Lancashire, who won our recent competition for a TomTom GO 950 LIVE worth £299.99.
The correct answers are
Take the third right 400 700
Ahead, exit left Right turn ahead Stay in the left lane Leave the motorway at the exit on the right Third exit Go left on the roundabout Sharp right
April / May 2011 | driving
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68