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#1 Posted : 14 January 2003 08:44:00(UTC)
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Posted By Eric Burt
Last Tuesday night there was an excellent programme about the Southall rail crash. The second in this series is on tonight, called Collision Course, and examines human behaviour in relation to road crashes. Here is the BBC write up....

"On Our Roads

Eight people are killed and another 800 injured every day on the roads in this country. Collision Course unravels the decisions taken by three drivers that led to them being involved in fatal car crashes and asks if those crashes could have been avoided. Powerful human testimony helps us understand the potentially deadly decisions we all make when we drive our cars".

It may also be of use to students studying human behaviour in relation to H&S.

I'll set the video!


Regards,


Eric

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#2 Posted : 16 January 2003 09:14:00(UTC)
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Posted By Jane Blunt
I watched it and was rather disappointed. Three accidents, where we are led to believe an error of judgement was made (although the presentation made it difficult to tease out all of the facts in one of the cases). Unfortunately in two of the instances a person entirely unconnected with the error was killed.

We were given tantalising glimpses of the existence of real research into how we process visual information, the limitations of our eyes and field of vision, the way in which we make split second decisions when we are confronted with a situation for which there is no 'right' answer.

I survived a head-on collision with a person who was asleep at the wheel and was driving on my side of the road. I wanted less of the 'from this point on the person was doomed' approach and more on the science.

Ah well

Jane
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#3 Posted : 16 January 2003 09:36:00(UTC)
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Posted By Eric Burt
I too was disappointed with this programme. The one last week was much better. I felt that this programme dramatised the issue too much, and should have concentrated more on the facts.

The issue of how human behaviour and decision making impacts on health and safety is an excellent topic for a programme, but the programme makers must be clear as to whether they are making a documentary or a drama.

Next week the programme is examining the issues surrounding plane crashes - I hope they use appropriate case studies such as the plane crash on the runway at Tenerife a few years ago, after which many lessons were learned.

I am sure the BBC would be interested in our feedback, so will drop them a line.....


Eric
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#4 Posted : 17 January 2003 10:51:00(UTC)
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Posted By Raymond Rapp
I agree with Jane and Geoff the programme was disappointing from a scientific perspective. Not exactly infotainment or docudrama but something inbetween perhaps.

I missed the programme on the Southal crash and working in the railway industry as I do, would have found it more interesting.

I lost countof the obvious statements ie 'where you sit in a car depends on your injuries in an accident'. Well, I never !

Ray
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#5 Posted : 20 January 2003 08:14:00(UTC)
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Posted By David Johnson
Yes, and too much time spent on the "and if he'd spent longer complaining about the fish" and "and if he'd gone a different way" he wouldn't have been there. And yet, as Jane says, occasional nuggets, but frustratingly often not pursued.
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#6 Posted : 20 January 2003 11:27:00(UTC)
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Posted By Ken Lucas
Let's hope for an improvement in the final one of the series - MI/East Midlands Airport aircraft disaster - is the chosen subject.

Ken
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#7 Posted : 21 January 2003 22:54:00(UTC)
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Posted By Jane Blunt
I was very disappointed again. To my taste, still too much emphasis on fate and chance, and how you stand a better chance of survival in certain positions (if it is the right kind of crash) and if you are young fit and well. No surprises there.

We did learn a tiny bit about PTSD - but not enough to warrant an hour of dwelling on chance, fate, etc. Mind you, I didn't know that Dickens had PTSD as a result of surviving a rail crash.

In my listing magazine it billed the programme as looking at the sequence of events that led to the crash. This was dealt with in a single sentence. The pilots turned off the wrong engine - no attempt to explain why.

A wasted opportunity.


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#8 Posted : 22 January 2003 08:47:00(UTC)
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Posted By Jim Walker
Jane,

I think you were expecting too much. Only us sad ol gits would be interested in a factual programme discussing accident avoidance. I don't think there is anyone left in broadcasting with a non arts background, so they most likely thought what they had presented had all the scientific content that the audience could manage.

I though the bit about leg injuries and why,was interesting - also the benefits concerning future design as a result.

I have a copy of the inspectors report of Kegworth, if you are interested - the ergonomic factors involved in the "pilot error" have significance to our more mundane dealings.
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#9 Posted : 22 January 2003 09:00:00(UTC)
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Posted By Eric Burt
Totally agree. The second 2 programmes in this series used poweful emotional images to portray the message "if your numbers up there's nothing you can do about it!" Even the Professor from the London School of Tropical Medicine was saying as much.

I now find it difficult to establish what the point of these programmes was, other than taking the concept of the 999-type programmes one step further by injecting a greater degree of tragedy.

Maybe one day the BBC will make a decent programme focusing on human factors such as WHY the pilot switched off the wrong engine.

I think I learnt more from the "Fire in the Kitchen" episode of Fawlty Towers!

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