Sixt rent a car blog » accidents

Beware iZombies!

Andy Aspden — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 09:38:45 +0000

Pedestrians distracted by the latest technological devices and unaware of their surroundings could be the cause of up to 17 road accidents per day in the UK, according to a new study by the AA. By highlighting this ‘iPod oblivion’ the AA has told cyclists and pedestrians to be much more aware of their surroundings, especially when crossing roads hinting that the devices can lead to ‘unintentional blindness’ as walkers devote their attention to their iPods, mp3 players and smartphones.

Looking through insurance records the AA has discovered a 5% rise in accidents caused by inattentive pedestrians, with it’s own customers being involved in 177 accidents in the last year, projecting that this could add up to more than 6,000 similar accidents across the country.

“We can’t stop the march of technology but we need to halt the iPod pedestrian, cycle and driver zombies,” said AA president Edmund King.

“When on the move, our brains have much to take in and using technological gadgets means that our brains can’t always concentrate on so many things at once.

“This is when we walk into traffic, don’t hear the truck, or drive cocooned from the outside world.”

Not only are pedestrians facing distraction from our ever-growing mass of technogadgets, motorists are also falling into the trap of blocking off themselves from the outside by using their mp3 players as they drive, potentially leaving them open to a fine and points on their license.

The Dangers of Driving on Ice

Andy Aspden — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:19:31 +0000

Two Scottish men have been charged with reckless conduct after their car was found submerged in the Union Canal in West Lothian on Monday afternoon. The pair were trying to take a short cut to Edinburgh after going out dog-walking and decided that the canal was a good choice of alternative road.

Police and emergency services were called to the canal after a concerned passer-by discovered the submerged vehicle, but the owners had already escaped the car and left the scene. The driver, Andrew Nisbet and his passenger, James Naismith, were traced after police recovered the Peugeot 406 from the canal.

A police spokesman said: “While it goes without saying that the vast majority of people have the good sense not to take their vehicles on to frozen waterways, this incident serves as an example of the type of stupidity that the emergency services occasionally have to deal with.”

The difficulties of driving on ice are not just restricted to falling through it into a canal, black ice is still covering roads across the UK leading to a 10 car pile-up this morning on the A627(M) near Oldham in Greater Manchester. Seven people were injured in the accident, including two motorists who suffered serious injuries, during rush hour this morning.

The video below shows the dangers that black ice can present to motorists who can do little to maintain control once all grip is lost between the tyres and road.

We hope that all drivers take care on the roads, if you do face tough travelling conditions then look at our previous

20mph limits reduce injuries by 40%

Andy Aspden — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:11:10 +0000

A recent study in London has highlighted the need for more cities to adopt 20mph speed limits, with injuries caused by traffic dropping by almost 40% since the introduction of the limits. The London School of Hygeine and Tropical Medicine have conducted a study comparing the injury and accident rates on the roads between 1986 and 2006. The study estimates that up to 200 casualties a year are prevented by the reduced speed limit zones in London alone and an extension of the zones could prevent a further 500 injuries on an annual basis.

Even allowing for a general decline in the number of accidents over the course of the study the scientists discovered that introduction of the zones led to a reduction in casualties of over 40%, injuries to pedestrians dropped by a third and injuries to cyclists also dropped, there was even a drop in the number of injuries in area adjacent to the 20 mph zones.

Dr Chris Grundy, leader of the study, commented “This evidence supports the rationale for 20mph zones, not just in major cities in Britain, but also in similar metropolitan areas elsewhere”. Both the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) have supported the findings of the study. Kevin Clinton from RoSPA said: “This research confirms that one of the most effective ways of protecting vulnerable road users, especially children, is the introduction of 20mph zones.”

Only drivers can prevent accidents

Sixt rent a car News — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:51:12 +0000

Only drivers themselves, and not technology such as event data recorders, can prevent road accidents happening, a motoring expert has said.

Proposed black box technology would not directly prevent road accidents, an expert has said.

Peter Rodger, chief examiner at the Institute of Advanced Motorists, noted, that this is instead down to motorists.

He made this comment in reaction to news that the European Commission is looking into installing black boxes, similar to those on planes, in cars.

The technology, which is known as event data recorders, could record several different driver actions such as speed, braking and indication.

Mr Rodger said: “What we have to remember is that these things will not prevent accidents. A black box tells you what happened. What prevents the accident is the driver and the effect that the technology has on the driver.”

He added that the only impact the technology would have on motorists would be the cultural factor of knowing that motorists, such as car hire users, were being monitored by the black box.