Memorandum from The Patrick Foundation
(RS 53)
QUALITY DRIVING
INITIATIVE
The Patrick Foundation Quality Driving Initiative
lobbies for a return to former high standards of driver training
for Police and Public alike, and for realistic research based
on evidence, knowledge and established facts. The initiative should
be implemented by those who have experienced and followed the
pursuit of excellence, exemplified and enacted by the Metropolitan
Police Driving School at Hendon. This former centre of excellence
has subsequently been run down with its crucial influence in improving
driving standards progressively diminished from 1965, by less
well informed and badly advised Government departments and Ministers.
The Metropolitan Police Driving School at Hendon,
was founded in 1931 as a direct result of concern at an incident
rate of one per 7,000 miles amongst their drivers. Opened for
business in January 1932, driver training evolved from Hendon,
to encompass eight police driving schools nationally, and influence
driver training for the services, companies, the public, and input
into virtually all major overseas countries. By 1965 an incident
rate of one per 85,000 miles had been achieved for all police
drivers nationally. The Hendon training methodology and success
story began to be widely implemented in the public and corporate
sector by organisations such as the British School of Motoring.
Britain stood as a world leader in implementing a superior road
safety culture, which is proven to have worked.
Three years ago in 2004 the Metropolitan Police
admitted an incident rate of one per 10,000 miles. There are no
valid arguments to dispute this catastrophic decline in driving
standards, and the current appalling Police accident statistics.
If this was not enough, the current National statistics for young
drivers are even more disturbing within a culture of confrontation,
gun and drugs crimes, loss of discipline, loss of respect for
authority amongst all age groups, and a Government who panders
to single issue pressure groups who raise money by presenting
misleading and untruthful statements to the media and the public.
Implementation of the Quality Driving Initiative now, before it
is too late, will save lives, reduce injuries, and restore the
Nations dignity—Edmund Marriage
February 2008
CONTENTS A
A. What is the Truth?—Some important
facts behind the urgent need for radical changes to current policies
1. The responsibility for the lethal Instrument
in a collision rests with the driver of that lethal instrument.
2. There are four identifiable types of
driver requiring different types of formal supervision, training,
and low cost medical rehabilitation.
3. Very few people understand the wide range
of skills required to be a safe driver. These skills are best
taught at a young age in schools, to establish personal responsibility
and a popular safety culture.
4. Very few people understand the established
formal driver training terminology of both the good use of, and
misuse of speed. This has led to speed per se being falsely considered
a major cause of death and injury, and the implementation of policies
with a range of very serious unintended consequences.
5. Reliance on speed cameras encourages
bad driving and side effects, which lead to increased numbers
of deaths and injuries. The implementation of this speed camera
policy, has in practice destroyed motoring public respect and
confidence in the Police, the Courts and Government.
6. A significant proportion of the costs
of the Quality Driving Initiative in achieving higher standards
of driver training can be absorbed within a thriving private sector.
The consequent benefits would contribute a net gain in Government
finances.
7. The harsh reality of the important statistics,
call for a major change of attitudes and policies at the highest
level.
CONTENTS B C D AND E
B. IMPLEMENTING
THE QUALITY
DRIVING INITIATIVE
1. Ten Year Plan to Bring to a Halt to the
Spiral of Social Disorder, Lack of Individual Responsibility,
and to re-establishing a Safety Culture.
2. Mobilising Currently Unused Police Expertise,
and the Training of the Instructors and Administrators for this
Initiative.
3. Quality Assurance Classifications for
successful instructors and pupils to British and International
Standards and Use.
4. Promoting the Self Funding Potential
of Quality Assurance, Apprenticeship, Training and Rehabilitation
in the Absence of Government Funds.
5. Simulated Advanced Driver Training, using
Virtual Reality PC based packages, for schools and driver training
establishments.
6. Skilled Assessments of Individual Capability
and Needs.
7. Resolution of Drug, Drink, Substance
or other Health Abuse Issues by using the Neuro Electric Therapy
addiction cures, linked with effective work and training based
rehabilitation, free from any subscription drugs from day one.
8. Integrating and Implementing the range
of measures required to encourage and achieve high levels of individual
responsibility through a wide range of linked activities.
9. Encouraging the supportive roles, which
would arise by fully engaging with the Private Sector.
10. Legislation which would ensure that
all aspects of the Ten Year Plan gained the support and understanding
from the Exchequer, Police, Local Authorities and the Courts.
C. BACKGROUND
ON THE
PATRICK FOUNDATION
AND EDMUND
MARRIAGE
D. REQUEST TO
ATTEND THE
ORAL EVIDENCE
HEARINGS AND
OFFER OF
ASSISTANCE IN
IMPLEMENTING OF
THE QUALITY
DRIVING INITIATIVE
E. ATTACHMENTS
(NOT PRINTED)
A. What is the Truth?—Some important
facts behind the urgent need for radical changes to current policies
1. The responsibility for the lethal Instrument
in a collision rests with the driver of that lethal instrument
Drivers of vehicles are personally responsible
for the lethal instrument in a collision, and therefore their
levels of concentration, hazard perception and anticipatory skills,
together with their general ability and physical fitness are the
primary factors in assessing and reducing their accident potential,
and their impact on death and injury statistics.
Put simply, bad driving causes accidents, and
if bad driving is not being addressed or discouraged, progress
will not be made. The informed reality is that current policies
encourage bad driving, discourage good driving, and prevent high
standards of driver training from taking place.
Individual responsibility and free will is being
discouraged in an atmosphere of confrontation and distrust, brought
down upon us by the significant, detrimental and unsustainable
expansion of State-ism into our lives.
Government in reality has a duty of care to
each individual in our wide community, and a primary requirement
though education, to reduce the accident potential of those individuals,
where undue risk would compromise the public interest. If targets
are to be used, then the numbers who have undergone training would
be a first priority measure of achievement.
2. There are four identifiable types of driver
requiring different types of formal supervision, training, and
low cost medical rehabilitation
Excellent common sense research, unfortunately
discarded by the Transport Research Laboratory in the 1970s, because
it could not be precisely defined on paper, concluded that there
were four identifiable types of driver, who required different
approaches, training methods and length of time in undertaking
driver training. Associated Active—Associated Passive—Disassociated
Passive—Disassociated Active. The ability to allow
for these individual differences, and identify those drivers with
the highest accident potential, would enable training to be conducted
with greater efficiency, and more positively assist each group
to lower their accident potential, rather than tend to alienate
and confuse them under more standard or more limited training
procedures.
3. Very few people understand the wide range
of skills required to be a good and safe driver. These skills
are best taught at a young age in schools, to establish personal
responsibility and a popular safety culture
Positioning, hazard perception, judgement of
speed and distance, creating safety space, making good use of
speed, and acting and responding courteously to other drivers,
can be taught more effectively, when a driver is put under pressure.
Psychological difficulties can also be recognised by an experienced
instructor at an early stage, so that the pupil can be given the
appropriate instruction and experience to provide the vital confidence
combined with discipline, which will significantly reduce accident
potential.
Adjusting speed to suit the prevailing conditions
at all times requires maintaining high levels of concentration,
observation, anticipation, hazard perception and above all, keeping
eyes on the road.
Mastering the abilty to drive slowly enough
when conditions demand such action, being the primary and ultimate
objective of driving skill, regardless of what speed limit was
set. This is a particularily important skill on country roads,
along with an understanding of the behaviour of wild animals,
and the reasons for rural activities, such as riding horses on
country roads.
Not to obstruct other road users—Learning
the art of positioning the vehicle correctly and safely at all
times—Not driving into other peoples accidents—Overtaking
as quickly as possible in order to create safety space and reduce
time exposed to danger.
The priority of providing excellent training
to Police once allowed them to use their high skills to identify
driving faults and an accurate analysis of the real causes of
accidents—These skills are being lost.
Former heads of the Police Driving School at
Hendon would confirm that the emphasis was placed on the use of
speed in the training process in order to expose and correct small
mistakes before they became big ones.
Today loss of control of a vehicle, is said
to occur in 35% of accidents.
600 deaths (20% of total) are due to drivers
failing to look properly.
4. Very few people understand the established
formal driver training terminology of the good use, and misuse
of speed. This has led to speed per se being considered as a major
cause of death and injury, and adopting policies with a range
of very serious unintended consequences
The reduction of speed has been seen by the
authorities as a priority in reducing deaths and injuries, and
the strict enforcement of speed limits by mechanical means, has
been a primary instrument in the attempt to achieve optimistic
targets. The reliable accumulated evidence shows that this approach
is simplistic, ineffective, damaging, and plain wrong for one
key reason. It was established long ago that speed in itself does
not kill. The correct terminology has been defined by the Hendon
Police Driving School as the use of speed and misuse of speed.
Misuse of speed as a cause of death and injury
did not exceed 7% of deaths and injuries, when accident analysis
was properly assessed under Stats 19-21 by Police Class One trained
drivers. The Stats 19 to 21 forms still display the terms, use
and misuse of speed. Sufficient confidence was expressed to support
this qualified analysis that the breakdown of causes was printed
in the Highway Code. In support of this important fact, speed
itself was recorded as a lesser cause than this at 5% by the Transport
Research Laboratory in September 2006. At least 93% of deaths
and injuries therefore arise from a wide range of simple and complex
causes other than speed, which should be addressed and not neglected.
Government policy centred on speed per se, currently fails
to address the use and misuse of speed, and fails to deal with
93% of the real problems.
Use of speed more often relates to driving well
under the speed limit to reduce the chance of a collision. Use
of speed is an important part of driving safely and creating safety
space for all drivers. Use of speed also assists in removing the
problem of obstructing other road users and causing congestion.
Use of speed become a valuable tool in maintaining the essential
high levels of concentration. For all drivers speed is the primary
beneficial influence, which encourages them through fear to be
observant, stay mentally awake and behave safely and responsibly.
The failure to understand the difference between
use of speed and misuse of speed, and to remove knowledge and
experience on these two aspects of speed from the debate, lies
at the heart of the damaging conflict between a badly advised
Government and the better informed driving public.
The strict enforcement of speed limits, in practice,
creates side effects by lowering the standard of driving, and
this in turn leads to a relative increase in the numbers of dead
and injured, particularly within the built up areas at speeds
below 30 mph, where most death and injuries occur. Cameras are
extremely expensive and cannot cover more than a very small percentage
of the country (currently less than 3%). In any event they are
required as a matter of priority where pedestrians are at high
risk. There is no possible hope of meeting road safety targets,
unless individual responsibility is encouraged and rewarded. The
lack of mutual respect between the State and Road Users has made
this all the more difficult. One size fits all speed enforcement
therefore does not address the issue of saving lives and reducing
injuries on our roads.
18% of accidents are said to occur with drivers
travelling too fast within the limit. 2 million speed tickets
are currently issued each year, and 1.3 million drivers are one
offence away from disqualification.
5. Reliance on speed cameras encourages bad
driving and this leads to increased numbers of deaths and injuries.
This policy has destroyed motoring public respect and confidence
in the Police, the Courts and Government
Misuse of speed is now a growing problem, because
the reliance on speed cameras sends the wrong messages to drivers.
There is no longer a means to identify and encourage the correct
use of speed. There is no longer a means to identify and punish
the misuse of speed. There is no means to encourage and reward
good driving.
Other specialists have provided the solid evidence
to this committee, to demonstrate that speed cameras used as a
one size fits all solution has been a disaster, indirectly causing
many more deaths and injuries (estimated at 1,200 deaths per annum)
to set off against the very small reduction in deaths and injuries
claimed at camera sites (25 deaths—see the Conclusions of
the Safe Speed Report attached.
The camera was located on a straight stretch
of high quality dual carriage way, far from any form of hazard,
such as a bend or the brow of a hill. The road conditions and
visibility on the day in question were excellent and the amount
of traffic was light. Accident statistics demonstrate that such
roads in Britain have the lowest relative ratings for deaths and
injuries of all roads, including those in any other country in
the world—Witness statement at a site where record amounts
of speeding fines have been unjustly extracted from drivers.
The proven method of encouraging drivers to
adjust their speed to suit the prevailing conditions and to keep
their eyes on the road, is now more relevant than ever before
in restoring sanity and safe driving. Total control of speed by
gantry signs and cameras has proved successful under certain conditions,
but the nanny state has decreed the strict enforcement of speed
limits, without any consideration being given to the serious ongoing
decline in standards of driving, and the massive increase in the
wide range of bad driving habits, which eventually kill and injure
more people.
Reliance on speed cameras is guaranteed to increase
deaths and injuries on the roads of the world. Using them to raise
money is a corrupt abuse of authority, guaranteed to alienate
the drivers of vehicles, and further destroy public respect and
trust in what were once called the courtesy cops. The letter attached
from a Police Sergeant on this subject covered above is typical
of the majority of experienced and informed policemen in the United
Kingdom, whose advice has been ignored.
Meanwhile 1.2 million road deaths and 50 million
injuries around the world continue to present growing unresolved
problems for the human race, through the failure to deal with
the known causes of deaths and injuries.
6. A significant proportion of the costs of high
standards of driver training can be absorbed within a thriving
private sector, and the consequent benefits contribute to a net
gain in Government finances
The current average cost of each road accident,
is estimated to well exceed £1 million. This does not include
the disruption and congestion, which impacts upon the National
economy. The cost effectiveness of improved and widespread driver
training has for long been proven.
7. The harsh reality of these important statistics,
call for a major change of attitudes and policy's at the highest
level
1. A loss of downward trend from the early
1990's costing more than 8,000 lives.
2. From the lowest fatality rate of 33 countries
in 1995 to 5th place in 2005, and 28th in accident reduction over
the last 10 years.
3. One million, mostly young drivers, on
the roads without insurance and valid driving licences.
4. Death rate for young drivers under 20
has doubled in the last five years, when full licence holders
in this group has halved over five years.
5. Of £44 billion collected, £8
billion is spent on road transport.
B. Implementing the Quality Driving Initiative
1. Ten Year Plan to Bring to a Halt to the
Spiral of Social Disorder, Lack of Individual Responsibility,
and Re-establishing a Safety Culture
Promote a new driver training industry based
on the Quality Driving Initiative and allowing a period of 10
years to meet major objectives. This would be achieved initially,
by pulling together all current loose ends—clear leadership,
reform and re-mobilisation of police skills, instructor training,
legislative issues, public awareness of the facts, industry requirements
etc. Re-establishing the pursuit of excellence within an effective
safety culture for the future.
In order to encourage individual responsibility
within an ordered community, each individual has a moral duty
of care to that community. An individual who legally chooses,
or is required, to deploy a lethal instrument, be it a knife,
gun or car, should demonstrate skill and responsibility in its
use. The Quality Driving Initiative sets out how this can be achieved
under self regulatory structures, with the minimum of Government
interference. An essential requirement is the encouragement of
individual responsibility, and taking seriously all related issues
at as young an age as possible.
The pursuit of excellence in each department
was a matter of honour, where self interest led to a duty of care
towards fellow citizens and the overall success of that community—Learning
from History—Edmund Marriage.
2. Mobilising Currently Unused Police Expertise,
and the Training of the Instructors and the Administrators of
this Initiative
We have reached a point in time where there
is a rapidly decreasing number of Police, who were trained the
Hendon Class One driver qualification. They would however currently
represent sufficient available numbers to be the potential, knowledgeable
instructors and administrators in the revival of Hendon methods,
through the Quality Driving Initiative.
The policy of encouraging or allowing police
personnel to retire as early as the age of 48, does allow this
substantial reservoir of highly skilled and experienced individuals,
familiar with past best practice in driver training and community
policing, to be re-employed as a matter of national emergency,
in clearly defined and well rewarded roles, which should not create
conflict with the running of the current Police force.
Radical action is required by Government in
a number of important areas to ensure the Quality Driving Initiative
is successful. One central issue is to mobilise unused Police
skills on a large scale in training instructors and administrators
for the Initiative. At the same time a dual purpose in this action
would be to select those Police skills best equipped to provide
supporting sensitive community policing, to support this, and
similar rehabilitation and training initiatives.
3. Quality classifications for successful instructors
and pupils to British and International Standards and Use
A British Standard for five classifications
of training achievement as perfected by the Police Driving School
at Hendon, between 1933 and 1965. This would be re-branded as
the Quality Driving Initiative for police, fleet training, public,
armed services, and administered through a re-formed Driving Standards
Agency, and the Driver Training industry.
For example Pass Plus, the IAM test and the
Driver Improvement Scheme would fall in the category of Class
5. A good IAM test would fall into the category of Class 4.
Penalties for bad driving, especially amongst
the young, should be focused on compulsory and voluntary driver
training, not being banned and criminalised, but encouraged to
enjoy driving well and be rewarded for achieving results. In cases
where a Court imposes a two year detention and training order,
this should dovetail into the Initiative outlined in this Submission
(see B7 below).
4. Promoting the self funding potential of quality
assurance, apprenticeship, training and rehabilitation, in the
absence of government funds
The early success of the Initiative would stimulate
a wide range of opportunities of linking with similar training
projects, and obtaining funds from a wide range of sources other
than Government. Good planning and support from Government is
therefore of great importance to achieving long term objectives.
Neither Government nor the private sector could achieve a successful
outcome on its own.
5. Simulated Advanced Driver Training, using
Virtual Reality PC based packages for schools and driver training
establishments
The writer was closely involved with the Transport
Research Laboratory and the Bristol based Virtual Reality Specialist
Company Division in 1997-98 in an attempt to set up a grant aided
project, to explore the provision of low cost, mass produced VR
PC packages, which would utilise Hendon methodology, to allow
realistic driver training to be taught in the classroom. The plans
were ahead of their time. However such a project 10 years on,
with improvements in technology and lower costs, make such a concept
a practical reality.
6. Skilled assessments of individual capability
and needs
This initiative would provide an emphasis on
the all important duty of care to the individual with methodology
to understand individual training requirements, encouraging confidence,
providing special assessments and resolutions of psychological
and medical difficulties. This would assist in successfully training
high risk individuals and reducing numbers condemned to a underclass,
unable to enjoy the freedom of driving.
7. Resolution of drug, drink, substance or other
health abuse issues by using the Neuro Electric Therapy addiction
cures, linked with effective work and training based rehabilitation,
free from any subscription drugs
An assessment of the inmates of Exeter Jail
demonstrates that some 80% are there for drug related crime, and
some 10% alcohol related crime. This pattern is typical across
the county. Drug related gun crime has a major influence on road
deaths and injuries. The growth in gun crime matches the growth
in the illegal drug industry. The illegal drug industry has thrived
and expanded by exploiting addiction. The illegal drug industry
is a man made monster out of control. Addiction, or craving for
another dose of drugs, is an uncontrollable physical reaction
due to damage to brain connections. This physical problem can
be cured in one short simple treatment, together with the efficient
follow up of aftercare and supervision, during which the patients
can be placed in work in suitable environments. The take over
and dismantling by the State of the drug industry is now a practical
proposition, coupled with proven measures to bring about a medical
treatment approach, which would remove the spiral of dug crime,without
the de-criminalisation of drugs. However, this solution to the
problem cannot be compromised by a failure to address all the
linked educational, environmental, rehabilitation supervision
and legislative requirements, which must be delivered in a single
package.
8. Integrating and implementing the range of
measures required to encourage and achieve high levels of individual
responsibility throughout linked activities
This initiative would link for obvious reasons
with many other education projects, youth training programmes,
and vocational qualifications.
A consultation process would be required by
all interested parties to build a successful cooperative strategy,
and highlight special opportunities for cooperation.
9. Encouraging the supportive roles, which would
arise by fully engaging with the private sector
Government would be required to provide a fiscal
and administrative environment in which the Initiative and the
driver training industry could thrive and prosper both in the
United Kingdom and Internationally.
The Insurance industry as a whole would almost
certainly have to be compelled by legislation to support and encourage
Quality Assurance Classifications for driving ability, and feed
data into the system so that progress can be monitored, and management
decisions made.
The private company sector has established an
example of one incident per 250,000 miles through an on going
company driver training programme, against a National average
of approximatly one incident per 15,000 miles
10. Legislation, which would ensure that all
aspects of the Ten Year Plan gained the support and understanding
from the Exchequer, police, local authorities and the courts
C. Background on the Patrick Foundation and
Edmund Marriage
The Patrick Foundation is an independent not
for profit research organisation run by Edmund Marriage based
at Sherborne in Dorset. The Quality Driving Initiative lobbies
for a return to high standards of driver training for Police and
Public alike, and for realistic research based on evidence, knowledge
and established facts, in reducing deaths and injuries on our
roads.
Edmund Marriage—Principal of the Patrick
Foundation—ARICS, MRAC—Qualified in Agriculture and
Land Agency at the Royal Agricultural College Cirencester and
Wye College, London University. Founder of the Golden Age Project,
British Wildlife Management, Work Groups for Wildlife (Rehabilitation),
the Quality Driving and Shooting Initiatives, with a career in
countryside and wildlife management, property, fund management,
and independent research. His video lectures can be seen on the
Holistic Channel Broadband Television.
Edmund Marriage successfully undertook most
of the advanced driving courses offered to the general public
in the early 1960s, exercising his personal responsibility in
undertaking over 100 hours of one to one training in the private
sector, reaching a standard, which equated with Police Class 1
Standard. He benefitted greatly from instruction by Hendon trained
instructors employed by the British School of Motoring High Performance
Course, who had taken driver training to its ultimate apogee of
excellence with specialist cars under the auspices of Tom Widom
and Denise McCann, before the imposition of the 70 mph limit.
He has campaigned and lobbied on driver training
issues since 1965. For many years he was a member of the Association
of Road Safety Officers attending events arranged by that organisations.
He has undertaken many refresher courses to maintain driving skill.
He has wide experience of the driver training industry, especially
in teaching young people.
He instigated the Quality Driving Initiative
in 1995 to lobby for a return to the high standards of Hendon
driver training for police and public, utilising the system of
five classification of categories of training skill.
He was closely involved with the Transport Research
Laboratory and the Bristol based Virtual Reality Specialist Company
Division in 1997-98 in an attempt to set up a grant aided project,
to explore the provision of low cost, mass produced VR PC packages,
which would utilise Hendon methodology to allow realistic driver
training to be taught in the classroom.
He gave a presentation on the Quality Driving
Initiative to the Association of Road Safety Officers at the Driving
Standards Agency training school at Cardington in Bedfordshire
in November 1999.
As direct result of his involvement and passion
for high standards of driver training he has recorded over 1 million
miles without incident. He is prepared to state that however good
a driver thinks he is, just one mistake at the wrong time or place
would result in instant death. However this is more likely if
drivers are encouraged by the State to divert their attention
away from best practice, towards misleading beliefs!
D. Request to attend the Oral Evidence Hearings
and Offer of Assistance in implementing of the Quality Driving
Initiative
With a working lifetime of interest and experience
in this subject, I would like to attend the oral evidence hearings,
and play a key role in the implementation of the Quality Driving
Initiative.
E. Attachments (not printed)
February 2008
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