Good day my good friend.

At the moment, I am in the mad rush a few weeks before a big event – in this case Mobility Camp. This is when the finishing touches come to the fore and take up a lot of time, and we need things confirmed. Plus having to come up with plans in case rail strikes and the death of a monarch may cause havoc with the event itself (don’t ask). Oh, and keeping the day job ticking over as well. And messaging you every day as well, which I love doing of course! This time in two weeks, I may need another public holiday.

If you have any suggestions for interesting news items or bits of research to include in this newsletter, you can email me.

For those of you coming to Mobility Camp in Bristol on 29th September, I will see you there. Tickets are sold out, but if you are still interested you can put your name on a reserve list. Or, sponsorship slots are still available.

James

There is more complexity to the relationship between deprivation and road safety than you think

One of the conclusions of the Making the Connections report of 2003 that I most remember was the link between road traffic collisions and deprivation – the more deprived an area, the more collisions. While – like everything in life – the relationship is a complex one, there is a link there. What’s more, the research indicates that certain characteristics like not wearing a seatbelt were more likely to take place in fatal collisions in deprived areas.

This new research article adds an interesting twist to the research, focussing specifically on child pedestrian motor vehicle collisions. It confirmed some of the previous research on the deprivation link, but importantly it found that built environment features did not attenuate the impact of these. This does not mean that pedestrianisation or a new bike lane won’t have an impact, but it does show that a lot more needs to be done to reduce the risk of road traffic collisions. Sounds like Vision Zero, to me.

Is it the end of the car as we know it?

And I feel fine. This is a question that has long been pondered by transport planners. But it has been noticeable in recent months how there have been several articles focussing on people who have reduced their car use or gone completely car free. The scenario planner in me is wary of detecting trends from just a few sources, but a new article in Vox did give me pause to think.

Very simply, it states that the electric car is a fundamentally different use proposition than the internal combustion engine. We tend to think about cars in terms of use and their total numbers. But different vehicles have a detectable effect on how we experience them and use them. What’s more, newer cars speak to newer values, specifically on sustainability and environmental credentials. A complete departure from the traditional meaning of freedom and independence. So, while car use may not be changing, we need to understand that our relationship with cars is changing.

Random things

These links are meant to make you think about the things that affect our world in transport, and not just think about transport itself. I hope that you enjoy them.

• How to stop cities and companies causing planetary harm (Nature)

• Europe needs China’s diesel if it does cut off Russia imports (Hellenic Shipping News)

• Ford dealers given an ultimatum on EV sales (TechCrunch)

• Amtrak Nixes All Long-Distance Trains as Rail Strike Looms (The Daily Beast)

• How Birmingham used the Commonwealth Games to regenerate Perry Barr (The Planner)

Something interesting

The Netherlands is a one country war against the North Sea. And for good reason, as a lot of its population live in high flood risk areas. But its not the only country in the world facing this issue.

If you do nothing else today, then do this

This very good post by Pedestrian Observations touches on the role of institutional knowledge in the effective delivery of transport projects. Very simply, this – more than most things – determines whether a project will be successfully delivered. Its partly why so much work is put out to consultancies.