For the first time in over three decades, nobody has died on Lincolnshire’s roads in the first months of the year.
2021 has so far seen no fatalities and three serious injuries on Lincolnshire roads so far, according to the county’s road safety partnership.
At this stage in 2020, there had already been five deaths on the roads, and before 2021 there had not been zero deaths in the first two months of the year since records began in 1985.
John Siddle from Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership said that while roads are quieter due to lockdown, this isn’t the “root cause” of the low figures.
He said: “Our present thoughts are that traffic is around 85% of what it normally is, however, with schools returning that figure may be closer to 95%.
“Because of this, lockdown may not be the root cause, it could be that drivers are in fact taking more care when driving.
“I would certainly like to think the message is getting through and people realise their own vulnerability.
“For most people, driving is probably the most dangerous thing they do, although some people do not give driving the care and attention it needs.”
Speaking to BBC Radio Lincolnshire on Thursday morning, director of policy and research at IAM RoadSmart, Neil Greig, said: “I am surprised to hear the partnership say the lockdown has had nothing to do with it.
“The general consensus is that lockdown and less traffic means less death on the road, but in Lincolnshire there were deaths even in lockdown.
Mr Greig also said that it could be down to a number of things, including weather and increased caution on the roads, as well as lockdown.
“Perhaps people are just taking things a bit more seriously due to the overall impact of coronavirus, perhaps the value of life is higher and people are valuing their time more.”
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A senior lecturer recently celebrated the news that East Midlands Railway will increase its train capacity on what he felt was an “overcrowded” service between Lincoln and Leicester.
Amir Badiee lives in Loughborough and for the past seven years has been commuting to his job at the University of Lincoln, but over the last two years he believes the train service has got worse. When he complained back in March he said he didn’t receive any response, but he believes his recent concerns aired in The Lincolnite helped to prompt a positive outcome.
Schools and universities in Lincolnshire recognise the potential benefits, but also the concerns, over the use of artificial intelligence.
The results of the government’s first ever Call for Evidence on Artificial Intelligence in Education’ report were published on Tuesday, November 28. It was open for 10 weeks and closed on August 23 this year, with 567 responses received during that time. Most respondents were “broadly optimistic” about the use of GenAI in education.
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