In 1931, when there were only 2.3 million vehicles on the road, 7,000 people died in road accidents
Today – 30 million vehicles, 3,500 deaths
So progress, of a sort
It is nevertheless true that the thing which is most likely to kill me any time soon, the most dangerous thing I do in my daily life, is crossing the road when I get off the bus on my way home
There is not, & almost certainly could not be, any kind of controlled crossing
Some method of guaranteed enforcement of the 30 mph speed limit would do
The problem is in checking whether any traffic is coming from your right before you step off the pavement. The road climbs up a short fairly gentle hill but there is a bit of a dip about 100 yards back, alongside some very tall trees. In winter you can at least see the headlights but when the evenings, though light, are falling in to dusk, it can be impossible to see pale, grey or even black cars
Even this would not be a problem if they were moving at only 30 mph, but so many drivers, anxious no doubt to get home or maybe to relieve the frustration of having had to negotiate their way through the cars parked on either side of the road in the village proper, just put their foot down
As a fellow passenger once said: I am sure that 30 miles an hour was never as fast as this in my day
