David Hansen wrote:

steve.trent wrote this:

Try Bob Davis, "Death on the Streets, Cars and the mythology of road
safety" and follow the references.

Oh yes- the book which was printed thirteen years ago - you would
have thought things may have moved on since then.

Many books were printed much more than 13 years ago. That does not
mean that what they have to say is irrelevant.

I note that you have attacked the age of the book, rather than the
arguments it makes. It is the sort of diversionary tactic adopted by
those with no better arguments.

Unless the book is readily available in print or online (which it
clearly isn't), it is hard to see how anyone who has not got access to
it can argue for it or against it on the basis of directly empirical
evidence. For that very reason, citing it as a source is a pointless
exercise and saying "Try Bob Davis, 'Death on the Streets, Cars and the
mythology of road safety'..." contributes and can contribute nothing to
any discussion on road safety.

But, OTOH, not all is lost. There is at least a review of the book
available, and from all that one can see, it was written by a great
supporter of the viewpoint of the book's author. And he (the supportive
reviewer) says that the book is just the thing to oil the egos of
anti-car nutters. True, he doesn't use those exact words (he wouldn't,
since he admits in terms to being one of them), but that is the gist of
the review.

So perhaps we don't need to read this unavailable book after all.