rdrfukApril 20, 2020
The previous post has received an unusually high number of views for the RDRF site – this backs up our view that this is a crucial time for transport professionals and campaigners to be active. Please read the post if you haven’t as I am adding on developments using the same format.

1. Keep informed and educated.

There is a lot to read and discuss with colleagues:
(a) Some of this is “normal” transport news, relating to pre- lockdown.

There’s not much new here, although you might want to see the conclusions of Professor Glenn Lyons report on “driverless cars”

(b) Some of the news is COVID-19-related, referring to changes due to reductions in motor traffic.

E.g David Hembrow’s take :

The main areas of interest have been:

Air Quality (AQ): Better air quality is referred to here by the ECF. This study Is on PM2.5s and COVID-19 ” A small increase in long-term exposure to PM2.5 leads to a large increase in COVID-19 death rate, with the magnitude of increase 20 times that observed for PM2.5 and all-cause mortality. The study results underscore the importance of continuing to enforce existing air pollution regulations to protect human health both during and after the COVID-19 crisis” but the connection could be correlation not causation – it does seem likely that it is nothing more than a population density issue. Another study links NO2 to COVID-19 .

Road Danger Reduction: Focus on the issue of “ultra-speeding” continues.

Picking on “out groups”: Regrettably cyclists continue to be targeted by unscrupulous photographers creating a false impression of close positioning with telephoto lenses. By comparison, there has been little or no focus on drivers not using their vehicles for necessary or permitted purposes.

(c.) Some of the news is about the long term: “When it is over”.

Take a look at this and this article.
Also this piece.
And this on climate change .

link to original article

Filed under: News from Elsewhere