News and views from People for Proper Policing North Wales (PPP)
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Speed Cameras Cause Erratic Driver Behaviour
A Press Release 06 August 2010
New research from car insurer LV reveals that many motorists admit to behaving erratically in front of speed cameras with thousands confessing to slamming on the brakes or looking at their speedometer as soon as a camera comes into view. This erratic behaviour could be leading to the number of accidents which occur around speed cameras with the research showing that at least 28,000 [1] road accidents have been triggered by speed cameras since 2001 as motorists suddenly slow down ahead of them
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Psychopaths
The REALITY of antisocial behaviour AND violent crime in the UK.
When researching the causes of such behaviour we came upon a book entitled ‘Without Conscience’ by Professor Robert D. Hare. This work describes the disturbing world of Psychopaths. Dr Hare catalogues the lifestyles and behaviour arising from the secondary symptoms of the disorder for numerous cases/individuals. He does not really adequately précis the information for the use of those involved in dealing with the consequences of the machinations of psychopaths
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New evidence in Jill Dando murder case
Police have found "conclusive" DNA evidence that could catch TV girl Jill Dando's killer - 11 years after she was shot. It has led officers to pinpoint a suspect for the shooting of Crimewatch presenter Jill, 37, in April 1999. Forensic scientists have discovered tiny particles of evidence that could point to the gunman. Barry George, now 50, was convicted of Jill's murder at the Old Bailey in 2001 but was cleared on appeal in 2008. Detectives on the believed she was the victim of an obsessed stalker who had shadowed her ..
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UK’s A ROADS ARE TOO DANGEROUS
Two-thirds of Britain's single-carriageway main roads fall below acceptable safety standards, according to a report attributed to the Road Safety Foundation but paid for by the Highways Agency. The report, part of the European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP) rates the majority of the UK's A-road network with two stars out of a possible four. www.eurorap.org/campaigns "Single carriageways lack most of the safety features that would protect road users and almost two-thirds (62 per cent) get an overall rating of two stars.
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Distraction and Inattention is the problem
Our supporter in Australia, Engineer and road safety expert John Lambert, confirms, with this dramatic presentation why so many road traffic incidents and casualties arise from driver distraction. Causation data is fom Avon & Somerset Police via safespeed. Obviously distraction at the wrong time is the critical factor, not travel speed. In fact a 2 second distraction means the pedestrian will be impacted at the initial travel speed. About 50% of all crashes are due to driver lack of care and attention,...
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HYBRID VEHICLES INCREASE RISK TO PEDESTRIAN
Hybrid SUVs: Big, ugly, and now officially dangerous?.
A new study released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Association in the US has provided figures to back up anecdotal evidence that hybrid cars running in electric 'stealth mode' increase the dangers to pedestrians. Where the vehicle is slowing or stopping, backing up, or entering or leaving a parking space, a statistically significant effect was found due to engine type. The HEV was twicw as likely to be involved in a pedestrian crash in these situations.
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The Stats 19 RTA data collection system
ANY sensible discussion on Road safety needs to be based on the latest data for North Wales and the death and serious injury data from the North Wales health trusts. A brief perusal of these figures show that the young driver group is disproportionately represented in the reckless and too fast/speeding categories and the elderly in those where fast reactions and judgement of speed etc are critical. POOR targeting is the biggest problem the Police have and not just on the roads.
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Antisocial incidents across North Wales
The information below is from the NWPF website. We were looking for the levels of antisocial behaviour that are reported to NWPF. The graph below shows that currently over 8100 incidents are recorded each month. BUT the table only lists a total of 16,184 for the year to date. Of these nearly 80% are of criminal damage, public disorder or vehicle related. We are not clear why there is this large discrepancy. The so called hate crimes amount to 0.4% BUT figure very highly & disproportionately in the their thinking & blogging.
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Indicators - positioning could save lives
You are in: Road Safety News: 2 April 2007
Research carried out by the School of Psychology at the University of Wales suggests that the positioning of indicator lights on a car can affect reaction times and determine the extent to which other road users are aware of a car's Indicators that are inside of the headlights are more difficult to read than those placed outside, a style feature that could have potentially serious ramifications. "Designers obviously want to create good looking cars, but safety is paramount."
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Chatty Driving: Phones vs. Passengers
The New York Times Tuesday, December 2, 2008
By now most people know that cell phones are a deadly distraction for drivers. But what about chatting with passengers? New research sheds light on the role that conversation — whether in person or on the phone — has on driving skill. Researchers at the University of Utah found that all conversations are not created equal. There is something uniquely distracting about talking on the phone when you’re behind the wheel; conversations with people are far less distracting.
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Motorcycling gets safer (relatively)
By Steve Farrell for MCN 26 September 2008
The RATE of serious motorcycle accidents has fallen 28%, new Government figures reveal. While the total number of serious bike crashes has risen, motorcycle use has risen even more. Deaths and serious injuries of bikers rose 4% in 2007 cf 1994-1998 average. But the rise is outweighed by motorcycle traffic being up 44% in the same period. It means that overall the rate of serious crashes has fallen sharply. The figures also show only 5% of motorcycles in crashes were speeding.
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PPP snap public opinion survey Denbigh 2008
The PPP carried out a snap survey in and around a trading estate in Denbigh on 14th August 2008. The questions asked, the answers given and a simple summary analysis follow….
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Key statistics on substance misuse all Wales
Welsh Assembly Government statistics - Clients seen by the Welsh NHS showing all substances misused in 2006-07; (published November 2007) 2006-07 ‘All Cases’ figure is a 29% increase on those for 2005-06 [All Cases 2005-06 = 27,741]
Alcohol cases were up by 40% on the same period and drug cases up 20%. North West Wales has been named as the country's worst drug death region. 820 heroin users aged between 15-44 were living in North West Wales, almost 1.2% of the population.
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3 Million HOLES IN THE UK ROADS
30 Channel Tunnels worth of trenches being dug into road network, reveals report on Wednesday 2nd April 2008 by the Asphalt Industry Alliance. Drivers are being forced to negotiate over 3 million holes in the roads of England and Wales, it has been revealed. These have increased from just over 2 million last year to nearly 2.5 million across England and Wales, averaging 16,500 trenches on every English authority’s roads.At the same time drivers face 1 million potholes, which cost an estimated £65 million in compensation.
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2006 Road Casualties: Wales
'Road Casualties: Wales' (previously 'Road Accidents: Wales') provides analyses of the centrally held road accident statistics database for Wales. This, the 26th volume, covers the calendar year 2006 but several tables also give historical data. In addition there are tables giving national and international comparisons.
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MOBILE PHONE BEATS MOBILE CAMERA
Inventor wins speed camera battle & court drops speeding charges
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wear/7033353.stm
Magistrates were stunned when a scientist charged with speeding at 42mph told them: “No I wasn’t . . . I was only doing 29.177196mph.” Dr Phillip Tann’s lawyer then produced data from a revolutionary device he was testing – showing the exact time, location and speed of his car.
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'More serious violence' - Long-term national recorded crime trends
A total of 1,059,913 offences of violence against the person (VAP) were recorded by the police in 2005/06. There were a total of 21,624 offences of serious violence recorded by the police in 2005/06. This represents a decrease of 769 offences from the previous year. Serious violence comprises of the offences of homicide, attempted murder, child destruction, causing death by dangerous driving, serious wounding or other act endangering life and endangering a railway passenger.
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Mobile Speed camera use is declining!.
Freedom of information requests placed by MCN and revealed in today's issue indicate a significant and widespread reduction in speed camera activity this year compared to last year. In nine counties that have so far responded, mobile speed cameras were deployed for 19% fewer hours in June 2007 than June 2006.
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Mind Driving Advanced Driving UKs Chosen Reference April 2007
In continuing its efforts to change the face of road safety in the UK, Advanced Driving UK has selected the new book "Mind Driving" by Stephen Haley as its reference source. Advanced-Driving.co.uk is the UK's largest online Advanced Driving Community, with over 400,000 hits per month. Mind Driving is essential reading for everyone wishing to undertake further or Advanced Driver training.
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Home Office change rules for COUNTING crimes
The police force run by Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom has suffered a blow to its claims of leading the rankings for crime detection after a change in Home Office rules … Daily Telegraph by Ben Quinn 30/05/2007 Until now, figures have included "administrative" detections - where no further action is taken, perhaps because a victim cannot give evidence - North Wales had boasted the highest proportion of administrative detections of any force - 15 per cent.
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DfT road safety cost figures are grossly and deliberately distorted
Department for Transport figures provided to the House of Commons Transport
Select Committee led to massively erroneous conclusions about the relative cost
effectiveness of speed cameras and vehicle activated signs. The errors are so great and so dangerous that it is hard to believe that they were not wilful. Formal complaints have been lodged with the Police and the Parliamentary Ombudsman alleging possible misconduct or misfeasance. While the Transport Committee claimed that speed ca
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These Government statistics relate to the speeds at which drivers travel in free-flow conditions across the road network.
On single carriageway roads with a speed limit of 60 mph, only 11 per cent of cars exceeded the limit. These stats REALLY tell us that the obsessive enforcement of guideline speed limits persecutes millions of drivers who are driving 'NATURALLY'. Which leads to ATTENTIVE driving at a whole range of SAFE Speeds that maximises SPACE and minimises SURPRISE as per Steve Haley's treatise 'MIND DRIVING' (see link)
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Road casualty causation statistics for North wales
This Welsh Assmebly report is based on the stats 19 system of reporting which should produce reliable and usefull information to enable a sensible road safety policy to be developed . The PPP will leave our members and supporters to draw their own conclusions from the data particularly from the chart on page 2. Have North Wales Police got their road safety priorities right ? .... tell us what you think
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Comparative data for the FOUR Welsh Police Forces.
Below is the comparative data for the FOUR Welsh Police Forces, North Wales has 40% more people and only 27% of the land area of Dyfed Powys but requires 42% more police Officers and 64% more staff with a 10% higher police precept.
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Dft orders Research into Speed camera effects.
It has just been announced that the research into adverse side effects of speed camera has been cancelled by the Dft. It would have taken until 2008 before the results were known. NOW we may never know. This decision coincides with the recent devolution of the responsibility of managing/monitoring of the speed camera program to the councils i.e partnerships themselves. The Dft don't want to be held accountable for the failure!
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More misleading Crime Stats.
Violence against the person incidents recorded by police topped one million for the first time this year, official figures show. There were 1,035,046 incidents of violence against the person - which does not include sexual offences or robbery - in England and Wales in 2004-05, up eight per cent on last year's 955,800. In 1997, the figure stood at 251,000. Overall there were 1,184,702 violent crimes recorded by police in the year, up seven per cent.
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A Politician sent us the government stats below for comment.
We tend not to believe any stats or other data produced by the Government ……… Distortion and down right lies are the order of the day. Mothers always said that the smallest of, so called, white lies would catch us out BECAUSE they always grow into the blackest of lies. Someone’s mother obviously didn’t tell them so! The terrible consequences of such corruption are that THEY now believe their own lies and none of us have any reliable historical data to judge performance and improvement.
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Survey of Motorway road Works safety management
This survey provides the results and comparitive effectiveness of various speed cameras, highway patrol vehicles or just signage in preventing collisoin s on our motorways during road works. These results are almost certainly applicable to the A55 in North Wales which is ALWAYS undergoing major maintenance and and where Arrive Activity has persecuted thousands of drivers.
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Daily Telegraph YouGov Survey Results .. Motorists .views
YouGov Survey Results .. Motorists .views. Prepared for the Daily Telegraph
Fieldwork: 25-27 November 2003 Sample Size: 1938 www.YouGov.com
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RAC survey of European drivers (incl. Brits)
BRITS LESS LIKELY TO DRIVE FAST Survey finds UK drivers are law-abiding folk
UK drivers are less likely to enjoy driving fast, less likely to have had a speeding ticket and less likely to have made a mobile call from their car than most of their continental neighbours, according to an EU-funded research project into drivers' attitudes to driving and risk.
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2006 PPP survey across North Wales
Below are the verbatim questions and answers from the 2006 PPP survey across North Wales including the Flint & Denbigh show. Note some questions were not answered at all and some misunderstandings were noted.
None of the participants were prompted in any way!
We only ask our readers to form their own opinion and NOT blindly believe the North Wales Police hierarchy!
Please tell us what you experience, good! and bad.
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Dangerous double lines
The Highways department of Anglesey council are ACCOUNTABLE for carelessly dabbling with Signs, messages and a multitude of road markings. The PPP believe that this confuses drivers, particularly visitors and those from abroad and causes a loss of attention which can be dangerous. This section of the A5025 East of Pentraeth has two sections of very bady delineated double lines. In each case the overtaking zone is unnecessarily shortened. The second one ENCOURAGES OVERTAKING IN A HOLLOW!. The other abuses of speed limits is causing frustration and we are regularly seeing dangerous overtaking manoevres.
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UNDER-FUNDING RISKS ROAD SAFETY
Shocking state of UK roads bad for safety and cars. All local authorities in Wales and 89 per cent in England believe that there is a threat to the safety of road users because of under-funding for road maintenance. Following the publication today of a survey showing the shocking state of local roads, the RAC Foundation has called for an immediate commitment from Government of more cash to address the problems. The annual ALARM survey into the state of roads show Welsh authorities receive only 40% of the budget they need.
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A summary of road surfacing options and characteristics
From our expert………Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) was starting to become popular in the UK about seven years ago (1998) and its use has increased a lot since. It is seen as a cost effective alternative to conventional hot rolled asphalt (HRA). Conventional HRA is paved hot and then, before compaction, coated chippings are compacted into the surface to give surface texture. The chippings are rolled into the surface whilst the asphalt is hot and the aim is to have a minimum final texture depth of about 1.5mm
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Road surfaces & safety on rural roads.
The following series of letters are from a PPP supporter (previously employed in the field of highways development) Mr Xxxx to a local authority highways safety dept.
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The Full Dale Hall Survey report 2004
This is an important document that reports the outcomes of six major stakeholder consultation meetings conducted with a total of 174 people on behalf of the North Wales Police Authority. The report details the outcomes from lengthy consultations with: Force Officers and Police Staff; Voluntary Groups; Businesses; Partner Organisations; Local People and Communities; and Members of the Flintshire Youth Forum. The agendas for each of the meetings were drawn from the Green Paper, Building Safer Communities Together.....
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Rubbish from North Wales sent all over world.
RUBBISH which North Wales people are told to leave by the kerb for recycling is being packed in ships and sent halfway across the globe.Politicians last night condemned what they consider the wasteful and environmentally unfriendly method of sending rubbish to India, China, Brazil and other countries to be recycled.
we include this story from the Daily Post on our website because we really need in depth reporting by the press to tell us what is going on, we congratulate the Post and Tom Bodden on this article.
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Interesting Results from a police survey
Safety fears over surface material of fastest roads
Many crashes could be caused by a road’s surfacing material that's being misused, according to police crash investigators. They're worried because in certain conditions, stone mastic asphalt (SMA) offers little grip for two years until bedded in. And SMA is the blacktop often used for motorways and main roads in the UK -- yet it's been banned in Ireland because of safety concerns. An industry body said that it didn't test for skid resistance on new roads because it assumed older roads would cause the problem.
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Safe Speed Founder Gives Up Life for Road Safety
Paul Smith's conclusion was "We must return to proper Road Safety Policies, that gave us the safest roads in the World". He argued vigorously, "automated speed enforcements is neither safe or appropriate." and stated "Speed Kills is too simplistic, other reasons must be looked at for the 'fatality gap'
He was quoted by the New York Times as the best quote of the day (world-wide), and the Observer largely attributed him, for causing the Government, to have a moratorium on speed cameras.
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