I have an interest in sailing and one thing that we used to get sent to us by the RYA were MAIB accident bulletins. MAIB = Marine Accident Investigation Bureau.
These were very interesting and informative and were not the preserve of large shipping accidents and often included incidents with yachts. The whole benefit was to learn from what went wrong so one didn’t make the same, often tragic mistake yourself.
We have AAIB, MAIB, RAIB but no Highways Accident Investigation Bureau. I would like to see such a thing and make public ‘key’ accidents and tell us what went wrong. The issue becomes ‘key’, since seing there are thousands of incidents every year HAIB would just get overwhelmed. Mind not every marine incident goes to MAIB, just what are deemed the main ones.
What inspired me that this was the way to go is simply the complete lack of anything once the sensationalism of an incident is over. We never get to know unless there is a court case and even then it is often edited bits the media pick on.
I remember obviously the AIM/Fed Ex/minibus crash on the M1, the bus/lorry crash in Cambridgeshire - but what was the cause?? and a few real biggies from years ago. Now we have this poor bloke who went off the ramp at Perth.
It may be he fell asleep (probably unlikely), on the phone, misjudged or whatever, vehicle fault - could be a multitude of things but will we ever find out. Having HAIB would help here and provide understanding and hopefuly improve safety.
They could provide these bulletins so we could access them and hopefully avoid some nasties.
Excellent suggestion, though I fear it is too sensible for the present Government to take up (or the other parties who might one day get into power).
Consider how no-one has yet admitted that ‘smart’ motorways were a mistake, none of the proposers of them has been sacked or demoted (probably got a promotion for the idea) and they still claim they are safer than motorways with a hard shoulder. As if!
I agree.
The LST trial has some quite detailed information which includes a section on incidents they have been involved in.
Page 44 & beyond give the incident details; it is a small start.
Government launches consultation on Road Collision Investigation Branch
A new investigation branch dedicated to learning lessons from road traffic collisions, including those involving self-driving vehicles, could be established under plans being unveiled by the government today (28 October 2021).
The Department for Transport (DfT) has launched a consultation on proposals to set up a Road Collision Investigation Branch (RCIB), which would operate much like the similar independent bodies that already exist for air, maritime and rail accidents.
An RCIB would carry out thematic investigations and probe specific incidents of concern to establish the causes of collisions and make independent safety recommendations to help further improve road safety across the country.
The consultation is being launched now due to the huge developments which are taking place across the transport sector, such as the rollout of increasingly automated and electric vehicles.