Thread: Roadcraft:- introduction

Roadcraft is taken from the title of the British police driver's manual, it implies more than mere driving skills, they will get you round a racetrack but public roads call for something more.
Road safety campaigns tend to be single issue , "Don't drink and drive" "Slow down in residential areas". They are the products of of a corporate culture addressing known issues, justifying budgets and showing quantifiable results.
They are also written by road safety experts who are not necessarily good writers and use a lot of jargon, I am trying to write things that will help people drive better and I steer away from death and destruction (No pun intended this time) which is off putting.
There are so many traffic accidents that most people have some level of personal involvement and interest. Further, 80% of people who drive think they are better than average, 30% of them must be wrong but the aspiration is there. I believe there is a ready made audience. By the way I have a RoSPA advanced driver's certificate, I was tested by a police class one driver and I AM better than average.
I will add more threads in this series and I would welcome any sort of critique of them of course, but my main interest is in making them more interesting and accessible, also if anyone has any ideas about other places I can submit them to get them read, that really is the point in this case

Originally Posted by Olly Buckle

I will add more threads in this series and I would welcome any sort of critique of them of course, but my main interest is in making them more interesting and accessible, also if anyone has any ideas about other places I can submit them to get them read, that really is the point in this case

Here in the colonies all our individual State motoring bodies’ magazines have a Letters to the Editor or similar page. I’m sure your AA or RAC or whatever it is would be the same. And apart from that page, they would possibly also consider individual articles. Phone the Editor.

That said, you might care to consider a professional proof and edit before submission. By way of justification of that remark, see my crit of your other piece on this topic.

Ox, thank you for your advice, I have replied more fully on the other thread.

I think in general there are sooooo many books and articles on driving, generally contributed by so-called Road Safety Experts of the Old Bill, it makes it difficult to attract an audience. The other issue is that sadly, very very few of us drive as prescribed, nor do we agree with the traffic laws, especially when we are caught. We also excuse our indiscretions my telling ourselves that we are "different".

People also have differing views of road safety. I would never drive even after one drink, but I see speed limits as advisory for others.

Part of the problem is that if you wish to write a series of articles and are not Old Bill or RoSPA, you might find publication difficult. What's more, few will publish real-world advice based on how we actrually drive, because there are legal issues if it can be construed as "professional advice".

Good luck anyway.