Black spot for white horse?

Motorist don't just slow down and lose concentration when they see an accident site, they also gawp at landmarks and are advised by motoring authorities to pull off the road and then look, at the landmarks of course, not the accidents. Is the proposed White Horse of Kent going to create a traffic black spot?

Just in case you were wondering where you need to avert your gaze here is the BBC's list

The 10 most distracting landmarks in Britain
1. Stonehenge 2. Angel of the North 3. London Eye 4. Windsor Castle 5. Celtic Chalk Figures in Dorset 6. Wembley Stadium 7. Hadrian's Wall 8. Long Man of Willmington 9. Humber Bridge 10. The Wallace Monument

After 75 no one fails a driving test

Awaji Island, where I am currently staying, is linked by very grand bridges to the main Japanese island Honshu in the North and one of the three other main islands , Shikoku in the South. This rural area is famous for its onions and chrysanthemums. It has a slowly declining population, first because like the urban areas of Japan the birth rate is below replacement level, but also because many young people do not want to be farmers and leave for the bright lights of Kobe and Osaka.

The small population of Awaji and its relative isolation until the bridges came means that there are no railways and in most areas only three buses a day. This means that old people have to drive if they want to go anywhere.

In Japan you have to take a driving test every 3 years from the age of 75. In Awaji those about to be tested are told that "no one fails"! Those who have had so many accidents that they can no longer get insurance have the government as insurer of last resort. There are no convictions for dangerous driving such as facing your friend in the passenger seat whilst driving on the wrong side of the road. As Awaji people drive rather slowly, 40 mph is really going some, it appears that the accidents that occur are not usually severe. However there are almost no pavements in the villages and the chances of being run down would be high except that when they see you walking ( I have done 11 kilometres in the last 2 days) the drivers cross into the other side of the road if there is nothing coming.

In many ways this deliberate fudging by the authorities is a humane response to the difficulties old people face in getting about. It will be allowed until someone runs over a school party and then the authorities will start enforcing proper tests. Maybe there should be silver roads where super senior citizens can drive, knowing that the risks to children have been properly accounted for.

Too close for comfort

Well,well who would have thought it, the Transport Research Laboratory has found that 10,000 accidents in 2006 were caused by tailgaiting, the practice of driving right behind the car in front in an effort to intimidate them to move over or because you don't want anyone to cut in. Such car owners are known in the Welsh Valleys, I am reliably informed, as dog drivers - work it out.

Then there was the information that 90% of motorist were tailgated when they kept to the speed limit and only 50% when they drove without regard to it. It doesn't say how many of these are Central Lane Only Drivers (CLODs to the police) who add to a journeys' frustration.

The only three reliable risk management ploys I have come across with regard to tailgaiters are 1. to fit a switch to the dashboard to flash the brake lights without braking - one of my sales managers used this very effectively - smart man - he was also the only sales man in our electronic component company that Alan Sugar had time for 2. Follow the sensible advice of an American friend - drive so you have fast idiots in front, slow idiots behind 3.Have a number plate like my mother's - R2NEA -she has never been in a tailgate accident in 72 years of driving, but then she doesn't do motorways these days.

There's nowt so queer as folk

Looking at some of the news stories I am continually amazed at the low probability high impact stories which surface. It is, of course, the low probability which provides for the surprise element.

Talking of "surprise element" one of the stories was the tragic tale of the Polish visitor to England who relieved himself on the railway track. Not a problem in Poland where, if I remember rightly, the electricity cables are overhead. Sadly in the UK with the live rail right next to the usual track his mistake was fatal.

Then there were the three US crew who were found asleep on the job. Problem was that their job included access to nuclear weapon codes. Question I would like an answer to is" what were the conditions that made them all doze off?" Then it turned out we had not been in as much danger as it seemed as the codes they were guarding were out of date. Maybe we should go back to using geese, at least they don't sleep on the job.

Then there was the report that there have been 300,000 traffic accidents which have been caused, it was claimed, by SatNav, or rather by listening to SatNav and not using enough gumption. Imagine what a swarm of lemmings could do with SatNav - they might avoid going over the cliff. Unintended consequence.