Should short car journeys be replaced with walking?

We are all walking faster and it is taking its toll on our health according to new research from the British Council. With this in mind, should we still be encouraging people to walk rather than drive short distances?

The number of trips made on foot has declined by 16%, since 1995/97 (DfT, Transport Trends, 2006), and the British Council study suggests that urban populations are walking faster and faster, putting their health in danger in the process. Walking rates were measured at 35 city centres across the world and although London came outside the top ten (Number 12), overall speed is 10% higher than it was in a study completed in the early 1990s. People who walk fast are more likely to speak and eat quickly, wear a watch and get impatient. The increased pace of life , and the reasons why people are required to walk fast (i.e. meetings, deadlines) is blamed for the change.

Do these results indicate that we should stay in our cars to travel short distances? Of course not! Making very short journeys by car, is a very unhealthy practice, but these findings certainly show how important cars are in allowing people to ‘keep up’ with the modern pace of life. Stressful driving situations can also induce significant and similar health impacts so the overall message is…do less, slow down, and leave enough time no matter what transport you are using to get around!

(Original story source: BBC News)

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Motorway car sharing lanes…possible if well supported by other initiatives

Car sharing lanes (or High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes), which are designed for vehicles with two or more passengers can be seen as a good idea, or a bone of contention. New research from the Transport Research Laboratory evaluates driver attitudes and behaviours towards a simulated lane on the M1 between Junctions 7 and 10. It found that the majority of drivers were able to negotiate the scheme and that few violations took place even in heavy traffic conditions. Some confusion arose from how to use the lane in unusual circumstances (i.e. a lane closure), but the study concluded that this could be sufficiently dealt with through an effective publicity campaign. 

These findings provide good evidence for making use of the current network more effectively and certainly the HoV lane on the London section of the M4 and the hard running trials on the M42 have been well received in reality. However, if sharing lanes are developed on the strategic network they will be most effective when joined together with business or area travel plans. A joined-up approach is needed to ensure that any car sharing infrastructure is supported by initiatives that make car sharing possible otherwise a scheme will unnecessarily reducing capacity and increasing congestion on routes where few drivers have little alternative to driving alone. 

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Driving: The battle of the sexes…

The Australian Insurer AAMI claims to have settled the age old debate about whether it is men or women who are the better drivers. Their research claims that women have fewer crashes and the average cost of their claims is lower than those logged by men. AAMI’s research also shows that women are less likelt to engage in illegal or risky behaviours and that they are generally more courteous on the roads.

Their survey of 2000 drivers found that; 

• 55% of men versus 30% of women drink drive
• 47% of men versus 38% of women had rudely gestured at other drivers
• 84% of men versus 77% of women had crashed their vehicles 
• 51% of men versus 36% of women had been distracted by billboards while driving
• 46% of men versus 36% of women admitted to verbally abusing another driver
• 22% of men versus 15% of women admit to using their mobile phones without hand-free accessories while driving.

Road safety and psychological research has consistently drawn a difference between accidents involving men and women. Women tend to make more ’errors’ while driving and men have been found to ‘violate’ road rules to a greater extent. This AAMI research certainly seems to support these links, but it also suggests that distraction may be a greater risk to male road safety than previously thought. RAC Foundation work has previously found that drivers can take in up to plus or minus five messages at anyone given time and stay safe on the road. This gender difference for distraction gives a new perspective.   

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