When assessing the risk of being involved in a road accident, we are plagued by the belief that norms, restrictions, and rules were created for those worse than us. At the same time, we overestimate our own driving skills, and we often associate air travel with high risk.
By land
In a July pile-up that occurred at the 174th km of the A4 motorway, a truck crashed with momentum into cars stuck in traffic. 4 people died and 13 were injured. The driver from Spain admitted his guilt. – I only realized what had happened after hitting the cars – he told investigators. The charge brought is causing a land traffic disaster with fatal consequences, which carries a penalty of up to 12 years in prison. If we were to go back a decade, we could blame a large part of the fault on the poor state of Polish roads and the lack of motorways. In 2004, there were exactly 470 km of them, while today there are over 1550 km – with expressways, that is over 3156 km of high-speed routes. It should be safer. In the case of the pile-up, it was not the condition of the roads or vehicles that was to blame, but the human factor, which is cited as the cause of 90% of all accidents.
A good confirmation of the above thesis is the latest statistics on the number of accidents in the UK involving trucks. Over the last 2 years, their number has increased by as much as 14% (unfortunately, the perpetrators of most of them were Poles). This is happening despite increasingly better road infrastructure and the successively increasing number of new high-speed routes on the Islands. As the main causes of these unfavorable statistics, experts point to speeding and left-hand traffic, to which drivers from outside the UK are not accustomed – the human factor.
By air
In the case of air travel, the situation is interesting in that despite statistics clearly proving that flying is safer than driving a car, a large number of people still do not fully believe it. Let’s look at the numbers. In 2013, the safest year for global aviation, a total of 3 billion 300 thousand people were transported, of which “only” 265 people died in crashes. In the same period, 3.5 thousand people died as a result of road accidents… in Poland alone. For comparison, over 1 million 300 thousand people die in car accidents worldwide every year. In the case of air disasters (similar to road ones), the main cause of 90% of them is again the “human factor”.
The greater fear of flying can be explained by the zero sense of control and influence over what happens during the flight (compared to a car we drive ourselves). We overestimate our own skills, which is why it is easier for us to believe that in a dangerous situation on the road we will manage somehow, than that a pilot will handle it just as well in the air. It also does not help that every emergency landing, even a minor one, is immediately reported by the world media. This creates a false belief that flying is often a risky mode of transport.
The road to safety
In the years 2014-2020, it is planned to build 1770 km of motorways and expressways in Poland. Furthermore, since May of this year, a driver who exceeds the speed limit by more than 50 km/h in a built-up area loses their driving license (a decrease in the number of accidents has already been recorded). At this moment, section speed measurements are also being introduced on selected sections of routes. It should be believed that all these actions will translate into an increase in our common safety on the roads.
In addition to the above ad-hoc measures, it is also worth remembering about education in this area. The organizers of the largest TSL industry event in this part of Europe – TransPoland Trade Fair – are aware of this. The subject of road safety and planned legal changes will be widely discussed during the third edition of TransPoland. A special services zone will be prepared for this purpose, in which the Road Transport Inspectorate will answer all questions regarding broadly understood road transport, driver working time, or traffic regulations. Inspectors will also share their knowledge in the field of transport of dangerous goods (ADR), animal transport, transport by non-standard vehicles – permits, pilotage, permissible values, etc. During the TransPoland Trade Fair, it will also be possible to learn more about the latest changes to the Public Roads Act, the Toll Motorways and the National Road Fund Act, and the Road Transport Act, which modified the regulations regarding penalties for violating the obligation to pay for travel on national roads.