The Irish have made a sharp u-turn in attitudes towards drinking in driving in the past 10 years. The Road Safety Authoritiy (RSA) in its annual run-up to St Patrick’s day festivities in Ireland carried out a survey that shows 65 percent of those polled now believe “that there is simply no amount of alcohol that you can drink if driving,” according to the RSA survey results published 16 March. The results compare to 2000, when 30 percent of people said there should be a zero limit and 2006, when the number had risen to 49 percent.
Lower Irish road death numbers linked to government road safety campaigns and legal restrictions on drink/driving are credited with the change. The government is proposing to lower the limit from the current 0.8 per thousand to 0.5 (Ed. note: Switzerland has a limit of 0.5).
Gay Byrne, Irish TV personality who chairs the RSA, said that “The results are astonishing and show that there has been a profound change in people’s attitudes and behaviour over the past decade. A clear majority of people now believe that drink driving is not normal behaviour, which is the polar opposite of the attitudes that were prevalent in Irish society 10 years ago.”
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The time has arrived for the annual Christmas party reminder: don’t drive if you plan to drink. The limit in Switzerland is 0.5 per 1,000, which means about one glass of wine. That said, Christmas parties, at the office or elsewhere, often catch people by surprise, and if you have one too many, consider phoning Nez Rouge to have someone come and drive you home in your own car. The Geneva area service also covers neighbouring France.
The holiday season service starts this weekend, with drivers on call 11 and 12 December, and then throughout the holidays but with dates and times varying slightly from one region to another.
African roads are the world's worst, for numbers of accidents (image: WHO, click on image to view larger)
Geneva / Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Roads kill 1.3 million people every year – some 3,000 people a day – and the United Nations estimates that the number will rise by 60 percent in the next few years. Half of those who die are pedetsrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. Switzerland’s transport minister, Moritz Leuenberger, told the first ministerial level world conference on road safety, which opened in Moscow Thursday 19 November, that deaths and injuries can be reduced if safety regulations are increased and enforced. He pointed out that Switzerland has reduced its road traffic deaths more than fourfold since 1971 despite a large increase in traffic during that time.
Leuenberger, who presided over one of three key discussions at the United Nations WHO conference, says that safety education campaigns are essential, but they can’t hope to compete with James Bond style advertising on the part of the automobile industry.
Clos-du-Doubs, Jura, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Two motorcyclists were surprised by a bend in the road in separate accidents within an hour of each other, between Essertfallon and Soubey. The first fell but was uninjured but the second was hospitalized after colliding with an oncoming vehicle, reports 20 Minutes (Fre).
Nyon, Switzerland (Tribune de Genève, Fre) – A pilot road project designed to save motorcyclists’ lives on the treacherous route between Nyon and St Cergue was opened 19 May, reports the Tribune. The motorcyclist is physically reminded to slow down thanks to a coating on the surface of the road in strategic spots, with special strips that alert riders. The strips are similar to those on the approaches to French toll booths on the autoroute; they make a tickling noise.
A new US study published in a psychology journal today shows that mobile phones are a greater danger “than even the chattiest drivers,” and pose more of a danger on the road than previously thought, adding to a growing body of evidence about their negative impact on road safety. Reuters
