We have made a societal decision to allow vehicles to travel at speed in urban areas, yet we continue to frame it as an individual driver choice when things go wrong. That logic just does not compute.
Do we honestly think we will eliminate risk taking behaviour?
A Safe System approach shifts the focus. Instead of trying to ‘fix’ all humans, it asks how we can shape the system so unsafe choices are less likely, or simply not possible, through vehicle controls and systems, regulation, and infrastructure that naturally limits speed and reduces harm.
We can, and will continue to, support better behaviour through encouragement, education and enforcement, but we cannot rely on perfection.
The real question is whether we are designing for ideal behaviour, or for the reality of how people actually behave.
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