Chapter 5: General conclusions

A sixth sense required

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We have concluded that the motor vehicle, or something like it, is here to stay; that numbers may increase three or four times by the end of the century; and that half the total increase is likely to come within ten years. The studies indicate the kind and scale of measures required to meet the increases of traffic. But when traffic growth and the measures are compared, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that, for a long period ahead, traffic will increase faster than we can hope to cope with it, even on the most optimistic assumptions of capital investment. It may even be thought that a desperate situation will arise. The further conclusion is unavoidable: that conditions as they are going to develop in this island in the next ten years or so, will demand an almost heroic act of self-discipline from the public. It is not only road safety that is involved, but everything to do with the sane and civilised use of motor vehicles. Motor manufacturers, parents and teachers will have major parts to play, but the main burden of responsibility will rest with drivers. If ever there was a need for a sixth sense, this appears to be the best example—a sense of ‘motorised responsibility’ appropriate to a society which is in process of acquiring mobility on a scale unknown to previous generations.