The number of visits to the Road Safety GB website exceeded 20,000 for the first time in January 2013 – the fourth time in the past five months that a record number of people have visited the site.
In total the website attracted 20,279 visits, beating the previous record of 19,130 achieved in November last year. At 11,712 the number of ‘unique visitors’ also surpassed the previous high of 11,273 which was also recorded in November 2012.
With 1,553 ‘pageviews’, the most read news story in January was about the ‘20’s Plenty for Us’ campaign urging people to download casualty maps. This news item also kept the moderators busy, receiving 63 reader comments.
2,791 of the visits, which equates to more than 13% of total vists, were via a mobile device (smartphone, tablet etc) with the Apple iPhone (1,004 visits) being the most widely used device.
Nick Rawlings, editor of Road Safety News, said: “We try to provide a lively forum for people to keep up to speed with road safety news and debate hot topics and these figures would appear to confirm that we are having some success.
"There are occasions when the debate can get quite heated, and we don’t publish all of the reader posts we receive in full, but we hope we get the degree of moderation and intervention right most of the time."
Great website that provides a fantastic forum for a much needed exchange of views. Here’s one I’ve articulated in the past.
There’s never been a war on motorists, there’s never been a war on any kind of road user. What there has been is a planned and generally systematic delivery of realistic and sustainable measures by dedicated professionals and volunteers that has reduced the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads. Evidence based evaluation and analysis has been used to deploy the most appropriate initiative where it is most needed.
Where a given measure is not appreciated by a particular type of road user, they will tend to feel ‘hard done by’; hardly surprising. What professionals have tried to do is to strike the right balance between reducing casualties, practicality, cost-benefit and the needs of all road users in the given area. This is achieved by hard work, planning, a passionate belief in the core values of road safety and a bit of ‘thinking outside the box’. Hardly a war. More like caring in the ‘big society’ that some politicians are fond of using as a buzz-phrase at the moment!
Thank you Road Safety GB and all your contributors.
Mark – Wiltshire
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Dave.
I may be one of the contributors to whom you refer. While road safety is cursed by vested interests, dogma, wishful thinking and false claims for success (as eloquently expressed by Godfrey Bloom), I will continue to campaign independently, and at my own expense, for a better deal for the safety of all road users. I am grateful that this website provides the opportunity to air and debate the related topics and issues.
Eric Bridgstock, Independent Road Safety Research, St Albans
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This is good news and I think every one involved with the running of the site does a great job.
However perhaps those who have made their views thoroughly known on specific issues could now take that as noted and in future try to contribute something positive or even suggest some solutions to reducing road casualties. Safer roads are everyone’s responsibility after all.
Dave, Leeds
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It is good to see the numbers increasing and healthy comments and debates being aired.
With regard to the comment from Idris regarding low numbers of contributers, I can’t help but feel that some are reluctant to make comments on some of the contentious points for fear for being viewed as a maverick and not towing the road safety party line.
Kevin Packer
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Well done, and I am happy with the moderation, very fair. Makes for good debates, and makes us all think.
It is however both surprising and disappointing that the number of regular comment makers is so very much smaller than the total readership – though I can understand to some extent – I used to be shy, before I realised that as I am invariably right I should say what I think.
Idris Francis Fight Back With Facts Petersfield
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