The consequences of bad driving

Tiger Bay writes:

"The Police's failure to control Bermuda's roads has many knock on effects beyond the stress caused to commuters by ill-disciplined drivers and excess speed. The economic impact is frequently overlooked, as the lack of policing leads to runaway insurance costs which adds to inflation in the local economy. Indeed, the cost to insure both automobiles and motorbikes in Bermuda has climbed rapidly in the past 4 years - driven by the outrageous spikes in third party payouts and the uninsured motorist pool. We are paying the police, and then paying more on insurance because the police will not do their job."

Indeed, it's even led to Argus deciding that motorbikes are now uninsurable.

I emailed Police Commissioner George Jackson last week (copying the police media relations department) to ask about the lack of traffic police. Is this the result of a deliberate decision, a lack of funding, or recruitment issues? I have yet to receive a response.

» Correction: According to today's Bermuda Sun: "The Argus Group will revert to its previous practice of offering motorcycle insurance only to those people who already have their property and casualty insurances with Argus."

Comments

[twowheel on 14.02.06 at 21:00]

I pay more to insure a bike here than for my last car in the states. The car was nice my bike is crap, go figure. The accident reports the police give mondays are bad - so many personal injuries for such a small 'town' as Bermuda. That is even more important that the cost. There seem to be even fewer police on the road since the dumb flashing sign went up in town.

[americanbermudian on 14.02.06 at 21:57]

When will we ever learn that catching speeders on East Broadway every other Saturday afternoon does NOTHING going to improve traffic safety or reduce speeding... It's such a waste of time and resources it makes me sick.

It's pointless to focus on speeders. We need to make roads safer. If that means having speed cameras at every dangerous intersection, so be it. It's a start.

I'm really interested in the economic effects of traffic in Bermuda. For example, just look at how rents and property values have skyrocketed in Sandys since the fast ferries have come into operation. Before that we were almost living in another time zone - now one-bedroom apartments typically go for $2000+ w/in 10 min drive of Rockaway.

It's difficult to take the total economic cost of traffic deaths and accidents into consideration but it's possible to approximate. It sounds morbid I know (and I apologize in advance) but back in university my economists and environmental science profs generally put the price per head in the US at about $2 million.

Make that a total of $16 - $20 million per year of wasted life on road deaths alone. I'm sure the economic cost of accidents is many times that, not to mention the cost of vehicle repairs.

On top of that, there are the health effects of poor air quality and carcinogenic soot depositing on roofs.

We're probably looking at something around $80 million a year of external costs that result from traffic and traffic accidents.

All this taken into consideration, it would probably be 'cheaper' from the perspective of the overall benefit to society to bring in a train. Not a rickety piece of crap, but something fast, quiet, efficient and timely. Expensive, yes. Over the top? I doubt it less and less every day - too many people are dying and being mutilated.

[americanbermudian on 14.02.06 at 22:02]

Just to save others the trouble:

"It's pointless to focus on speeders. We need to make roads safer. If that means having speed cameras at every dangerous intersection, so be it. It's a start."

What the hell am I talking about?

I think I meant to say that speeding is only one of the many factors that make our roads so dangerous, and having speed traps at every dangerous intersection would help but it would go far from solving the problem. The roads by their very nature are just too dangerous and they're overcrowded.

There that feels better.

[Somers on 15.02.06 at 08:37]

I won't argue with your overcrowded arguement, but I am willing to bet my four wheels that we would see hardly any accidents & deaths if everyone drove at the posted speed limit.

Ironically W&E are building all new roads, intersections and road improvement projects to British Road saftey codes for driving at 50km/h - what does that tell you.

[Larry on 15.02.06 at 09:37]

Eighty percent of us or more break the real speed limit every day. The rest stop in the middle of Front Street or Queen Street because it's more convenient than finding a real parking space.

It's unreasonable for us to say that the laws we break should be ignored while other laws should be enforced by the police.

The traffice laws should be reviewed and written so they are practical and then enforced on a routine basis.

Prohibition ended not because Americans changed their minds about alcohol, but that the influence of everyone breaking the law created a general lack of respect for the law. Bermuda now has to undergo the same kind of change in attitude about the laws of the road.

[VB on 15.02.06 at 09:42]

I don't feel that the speed so much is the problem as the stupid & dangerous driving being done at any speed. Do these people drive the same way when they rent a vehicle overseas? I don't think so. Either very few drive overseas or we would be hearing of many Bermian deaths at the wheels of rental cars. They know better. It is just that there is no policing to control the stupidity here.

On a related point, there are very few 'accidents'. There are many 'crashes'. An accident occurs when a crash occurs for reasons beyond human control. Trees, utility poles & walls do not jump out into the path on oncoming vehicles. Vehicles do not steer themselves into each other. Stupid riders & drivers steer their vehicles into unmoving & moving things.

[Chris Broadhurst on 15.02.06 at 09:54]

I agree that speed is not the main problem. It is the lack of road manners and the total lack of respect for anyone else on the road.

The only place I have seen that is worse is Paris, France.

[Two Cents on 15.02.06 at 10:18]

"The only place I have seen that is worse is Paris, France."

Chris, that is sooo true, however the only place with worse driving in my opinion is Brazil. After I made the mistake of renting a car in Rio de Janerio, and drove on the "highway" (which randomly went from four lanes to one lane, and switched back again for apprently no reason) was when it truly became eveident that bad driving ruled. The posted speed limit was 90km, I was driving at 130-140km (in the slow lane) just to keep up with the flow of traffic, and was getting all sorts of rude looks & gestures from other drivers for driving so "slow". In the outside lane which is generally faster, the traffic was travelling at what I estimate to be 180km+, just crazy, we returned the rental car after one day and caught taxis (which was just as crazy).

[Zoom on 15.02.06 at 11:11]

Inflation is such an impersonal statistic...but the big annual increases in insurance costs take a meaningful bite out of an individual's income. You are paying more for other peoples' irresponsibility even if you have a clean record. The insurance companies look after themselves by dropping clients and raising premiums - we rely on the police to look after our interests by controlling the roads. Do they even try?

[SmokingGun on 15.02.06 at 11:14]

In my opinion the root cause of our bad driving starts at the top. Everything starts at the top. When the laws are relaxed to allow bigger cars with bigger motors you have the start of a problem. When those laws are further abused and those in authority turn a blind eye you have a problem. When people are allowed to abuse the rule of one car per household and no-one enforces it for years you have a problem. When the Minister of Transport puts all his time and money into tourism efforts spending money on getting cheap junket flights that are used by locals to shop away instead of putting the money to expand hours of service on island transportation you have a problem.

When a parent decides they can't be bothered to enforce a child show good road manners and act responsibility about drinking and driving you have a massive problem.

[PorKy on 15.02.06 at 11:30]

The problem is that no one is taken off the road any more. The government is so hard up for money they'd much rather use large fines and hope that people are repeat offenders so they can make money off them. When people know that they won't be taken off the road they are much more likely to speed and drive drunk.

[Observer on 15.02.06 at 11:35]

Sorry SmokingGun, I cannot agree with your point about the Minister of Transport getting "cheap junket flights" to Bermuda.

Perhaps you can afford to spend upwards of $500 for a ticket to the East Coast, but given the cost of living here, (including exorbitant rents), thank God he was able to provide affordable flights not only for residents, but also tourists coming here.

One of the main reasons tourism has declined in Bermuda is due to expensive fares, and whether residents use it for shopping or otherwise, that should not be your concern.
However, maybe it would be more of a concern to you if you (like me), had parents living in the U.S. & couldn't afford to visit them as much as you'd like because the fares are so outrageous!

[twowheel on 15.02.06 at 11:39]

No enforcement means no rules. A truism that applies to the dinner table, to traffic, to business, and even to political/civil service ethics.

[Mac on 15.02.06 at 11:47]

There's a way to deal with bad driving, accidents, insurance and congestion. Instigate a pay-as-you-drive regime. Pay insurance and congestion charges based on how much you drive. The flip side is that the insurers get data on who drives well/bad/fast etc and can incentives/reward those who are good. Also useful for traffic management.

Norwich Union, one of the biggest UK car insurers is trialling it. The UK government is interested in it for road-charging (move away from annual flat taxes like tax discs)

http://www.norwichunion.com/pay-as-you-drive/index.htm

[SmokingGun on 15.02.06 at 11:59]

Observer - OK you are right I guess that was a bit of a "cheap" shot....

Actually I am all for what he's doing in regards to getting the cost of a flight to Bermuda down, but there is a lot more to it than meets the eye. It's all a matter of balance. One of the core issues we have is how to make Bermuda the destination that it was always known for. Beautiful, entertaining, safe, extremely friendly and polite. People will pay more for those things but we are not putting our best foot forward.

The first thing people may look at is the price of a ticket sure but the core visitors we want also look at value. And in the grand scheme of things we are not offering that. As a start we should create huge incentives for our local population to dump the cars and bikes and use public or semi-private programs to start making our roads cleaner, less congested and safer. After all it's the first thing a visitor has to deal with when they arrive.

Other than customs of course..... ;)

[The Limey on 15.02.06 at 13:13]

Correction: According to today's Bermuda Sun: "The Argus Group will revert to its previous practice of offering motorcycle insurance only to those people who already have their property and casualty insurances with Argus."

[Andrew on 15.02.06 at 15:37]

It would be nice to be able to point to a single factor, but the truth is that the carnage on the roads is caused by a combination of factors.

The roads are poorly engineered. Stone walls within inches of cars and bikes going 30Km/h is still more dangerous that a wider road with soft shoulders. Blind hills and corners are more dangerous than clear, unobstructed views. Pedestrians aren't considered. When a large truck has to cross the centre line around a blind corner to avoid a jogger in the road, only fate prevents a collision with a vehicle coming the other way.

Driving habits are brutal. Tailgating, overtaking, speeding, drink-driving. Generally speaking, the driving maneuvers show no respect for the law or other drivers. (Except for the habit of stopping in the middle of the road to let out traffic, which, while polite, results in scooters flying in all directions adjusting to the unexpected stop.)

There are bad drivers on the road. Pulling them off the road may have some impact on driving safety. I suspect it would also have the effect of reducing congestion while overwhelming public transit, since 85% of the drivers on Bermuda's roads exhibit driving habits that should result in license suspension.

There's no easy cure, but a grassroots initiative to change attitudes toward driving is probably the best bet. Driving habits are influenced by attitudes and expectations with respect to the act of driving. New drivers conform to the habits of those around them because they are a product of their environment. New Bermuda drivers with driving experience in other countries are probably more cautious on the road than new Bermudian drivers. They are the product of their environment - other countries where driving is done is a more orderly fashion. Eventually, they'll drive like everyone else.

Change the expectations and you'll change the drivers. Start young. Educate the kids, educate the parents. Then enforce until it hurts.

[Somers on 16.02.06 at 14:04]

"New drivers conform to the habits of those around them because they are a product of their environment." - Andrew

So if this is true, how are we in this situation?

[dipaticsolutions on 18.02.06 at 20:48]

What Happened to Mr.Simmons on thi issue????

[SmokingGun on 20.02.06 at 15:23]

The consequences of bad driving:

A Lexington, Kentucky woman and her daughter flipped over in their SUV and rolled into the berm. Passers-by stopped to help and found the woman, her arm missing, pinned in the car. A quick-thinking driver placed a tourniquet on the woman’s stump and they later found her arm—still clutching a cellphone. Both victims survived the crash.

Think about it the next time the phone rings......