road danger


AWWTM: Risk compensation and bicycle helmets

Some months ago I left a series on bicycle helmets hanging while I got distracted with other things. We had looked at what the best evidence for the efficacy of helmets in preventing injury in the event of a crash is, and some of the reasons why we should be […]


AWWTM: Unskilled and unaware of it

Most road “accidents” may be accidental in the sense that they are unintended.  But few, if any, can be considered accidental in the sense that nobody was to blame.  In road accidents, somebody did something wrong, and it’s almost always a driver doing some wrong.  It’s bad driving that causes […]


AWWTM: When did trucks become a problem?

At War With The Motorist‘s tongue-in-cheek name and sarcastic attitude is usually to make fun of people who misuse and overuse the private car.  But at least as big a problem with our transport and built environment is the misuse and overuse of freight and delivery vehicles, especially in London […]


AWWTM: Fear of cycling

In last week’s the week before the week before last’s post, if you build it they will come, I described why we should expect that building proper cycle superhighways — fast, capacious, direct and sensible routes that are segregated from high volumes of fast moving motor vehicles — should unleash […]


How many people die on China’s roads, and why?

Continuing the China strand on At War With The Motorist, exploring questions that aren’t easy to answer.  The main conclusions are that an absolutely staggering number of people die on China’s roads each year, and they do so because on their anarchic roads, inexperienced Motorists drive like idiots.  The more […]