This week, I spoke to the ABC on the new NSW initiative legalising e-scooter use in certain circumstances.
The accompanying coverage suggests that many in the community are concerned about the perceived safety risks that e-scooters and e-bikes pose. There has been considerable outcry at the thought of these devices on our streets, and repeated calls for helmets as a one-size-fits-all safety measure.
Meanwhile the staggering cost of road trauma caused by cars continues to be ignored and overlooked. The tragic death of a young boy in Melbourne this week after being hit by a car within school grounds is a reminder of the terrible cost of our road system and dependence on cars.
We call for the media and police forces to end the use of the term “road accident” when describing crashes, as this exemplifies society’s tolerance of road danger and perpetuates the idea that these terrible incidents are unavoidable. In reality, there is much that we can collectively do to reduce the risk and severity of these crashes:
Around the world, cities of differing sizes are no longer permitting vehicles on school streets. (FIA Foundation’s School streets: Putting children and the plant first – A political economy analysis of the rise of school streets in Europe and around the world).
By walking, riding, or taking public transport to school, families can help reduce the risk of road trauma for other children.
The rise of larger and heavier vehicles is increasingly placing people at greater risk of death and serious injury when crashes do occur. (Bigger, dirtier, more dangerous: How ‘auto-besity’ is a health risk for everyone, SMH, 2023)
Our government needs to take leadership in this area. Kant’s concept of freedom is relevant here: ‘The freedom of one person ends where it limits the freedom of another.’ This means that while individuals have the right to make their own choices, those choices should not come at the expense of others’ rights and freedoms. While it may be safer for one person to buy an oversized car, this choice ultimately increases the risk for everyone else on the road by a significant margin. The Economist found (for the US) that for every life that the heaviest 1% of SUVs and trucks save, there are more than a dozen lives lost in other vehicles. When too many people drive their children to school in oversized SUVs, it infringes upon the freedom and safety of others and limits our kids’ ability to move around independently.
The Hierarchy of Controls is a “system used in industry to minimize or eliminate exposure to hazards“.
Bicycle helmets are at the bottom, or least effective end of the pyramid, as “personal protective equipment”.
We urge the government to create and implement policy based on accurate risk of community injury, and leave you with Dave Walker’s classic cartoon, What would make cycling (active travel) safer (according to people on the internet vs actual statistics)
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