What if we handle road safety as general safety?

The hierarchy hazard controls is a de facto standard for determining which measures to take in the presence of risks. The principles can be (and I would argue that they should be) applied to road safety.

From the most effective to the least effective measure, we have:

  • Elimination: Avoid road trips. Of course it is rarely possible.

  • Substitution: Replace dangerous vehicles with non-hazardous vehicles. That is, cars should be limited

  • Engineering controls: people are isolated from risks: cycle paths, sidewalks everywhere, speed bumps, raised crossings, narrowing of the roads

  • Administrative controls: speed limits, 30 km/h cities, speed cameras, training courses.

And last and most definitely least:

  • personal protective equipment: they are the least effective, to be used only if there is no possibility of applying other measures: helmets.

Those who push for certain measures do not understand anything about safety, and thus would start from the bottom of the hierarchy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchy_of_hazard_controls

crossposted from: https://mastodon.uno/users/rivoluzioneurbanamobilita/statuses/113978193983638459

  • ℬ𝒶𝓃𝒶𝓃𝒶@communick.newsEnglish
    10·
    21 hours ago

    I am very familiar with this Heriarchy of Controls for my work designing the power system. We care deeply about public and worker safety. And then traffic engineers throw it out the window when they design our roads? It is very frustrating to see. Motonormativity at work.