Beware of Expert Sources Ltd

There is nothing more dangerous in dangerous pursuits than non-experts calling themselves experts.

Very often someone calls themselves 'expert' when their CV really doesn't quite cut the mustard.

There were never so many as there are in the world of driving and road safety.

An ex Journalist & his wife dreamed up a little money spinner called Expert Sources, http://bit.ly/dApAwc where, for a large fee, anyone can be registered on their database as an expert commentator on just about any issue. This information is then freely available to lazy journalists who cannot be bothered to find the real independent experts with no vested interest.

It appears that no qualification is needed to be quoted by the media, from this database, other than paying to be on it!!

How dangerous is that? Especially in the life & death issue of road safety and driving where, as we know, there are already far too many 'experts' meddling in our lives.

I did enter a dialogue with Bob, the co-founder to try to ascertain how, apart from the fee, his firm vetted the experts.

All I had was insulting diatribes trying to justify the scheme but no answers. The last exchange follows.

Sir,

This is very definitely our final response.

It appears nobody is an expert in anything - apart from yourself.

Good luck to you.

Expertsources.

Don't be silly. We have experts in sky diving, mountain climbing, use of firearms, deep sea diving and so on. All highly dangerous pastimes.

I have not promoted myself other than to ask you where do you define experts in dangerous activity apart from paying you a subscription? Do you seriously suggest that is enough to be directing the media in these life and death issues?

I have asked you to explain to me how you vet these 'experts' apart from their subscription to your organisation and you are unable to provide me with answers. Do the media know about this and understand it?

I am quite happy with my professional CV which is entirely appropriate in my subject which is driving, road safety, accident statistics and driver law. Please do tell me who you have listed in these matters as experts and precisely what their qualification is.

Regards

It's the economy stupid!

Don't let the Dft and its partnerships claim what isn't theirs.

Render unto Caesar; it's the economy stupid!

Click on image to enlarge.

KP In Echo on RSS Ltd and a pinch of salt

I needed to get news out of Lincolnshire police spending £30,080 with RSS Ltd. So this letter is better than nowt.

Same issue elsewhere my comments on the salt supplies too.

Ex Traffic Cop & 'Speed kills' myth talk

I am charging £1 on the door for costs and expenses.

Lincolnshire & Nottingham Police pay RSS Ltd

You may recall the exposure of Road Safety Support Ltd on earlier pages. (See under the Speed Limits label 'ACPOs Little Helpers'). RSS ltd was set up by the serial speeder Ch Constable Meredydd Hughes to make money from drivers, who had the audacity to defend themselves. The RSS Ltd would supply alleged expert speed camera witnesses at a fee and then demand thousands of pounds of costs from the poor victim.

Do the police behave like this for really anti social offences too?

Well Lincolnshire Police have now paid out £35,080 of our money to RSS Ltd, & Notts Police this year alone £21731.50 for what exactly?

Driving above an arbitrary and unscientific number on a pole cannot cause anything, or 'owt' as we say in this God's Little Corner. So what is RSS Ltd for, apart from making about 3/4 of million a year ( My estimate) plus expenses from the beleaguered British Driver!!

The police are spending our money not to stop accidents. See our poll

East Midlands Raw Deal Gathering

Do you think drivers are getting a raw deal?

We will be having an ABD East Midlands open meeting on the Saturday 12th June at the Broughton Astley Village Hall, Station Road, LE96PT at 2pm till 5.pm.

Non ABD members are most welcome.

We have about 3 speakers lined up and then time for a good Q & A on where we, as drivers, should be headed and how we can better state our case.

We will be gathering from about 12 noon next door at the White Horse where lunch is available for those who fancy it. No need to book a meal but if you do intend to eat, I have reserved a table in my name and it would help the staff to ring them and add yours to the diary entry under my name on 01455282283 just to give us an idea of numbers. We will move to the hall at 2 pm.

If not meeting at the pub, can you indicate to me if you may come to the meeting? As this is literally one of those events where you can change your mind on the day, you will not be committed to coming but gives us an idea of how many to expect.

Follow the Goldmine Soundbite. Lord Faulkner.

Why do we elect MPs and have Lords all at great expense if they just parrot their officials? May as well disband Parliament and save money with just the officials then! The following to Lord Faulkner explains it all.

Thank you for your kind response of the 4^th March, but I must persist on this life and death matter of road safety.

As a voluntary expert in driving and road safety, having achieved the highest driving qualification there is world wide, and having dealt with accidents, prosecuted them, provided the statistics for them, accident abstracts for the legal profession, please forgive me if I enquire who exactly in the Dft is actually such an expert or for that matter, from all the vested interest groups that supply you with your information?

I thought the whole idea of politicians and noble Lords is to be of the people and not the mandarins. Your response begs the question why have Noble Lords at all?

The figures you have been given are untrue. Death rates were already falling before we started criminalising people by the hundreds of thousands and your response takes no account of ABS, better cars, better roads, crush zones, better A&E, better emergency equipment and training. So has all that had no affect on figures as you are being told then? Lately, the good casualty results are being claimed as success too by the Industry; nothing to do with the massive fuel hikes and less mileage being driven then?

Also the figures quoted use regression to the mean and always include the subjective ‘serious injuries’ too. Let’s just focus on death, or fatal since that is the only objective definite figure. So ask the mandarins why they must always mingle and blur the realities? Not just with the casualties, but also with words that do not appear in the RTA, like ‘excessive speed’ for example. There is either speeding or dangerous driving. Speeding, the act of going above a number on a pole which cannot cause anything or dangerous driving, which includes too fast and which does cause accidents.

So I am afraid you are being seriously misled.

Speed kills, I have shown, is nothing more than an untrue and dangerous sound bite. It allows the lucrative Road Safety Industry to do exactly the opposite of preventing collisions and ignore the causes of them too. So ‘speed kills’ kills. The slogan should be ‘dangerous driving kills’ so why can’t you say that instead? Simple answer? Follow the Money Lord Faulkner. There is money in ‘speed kills’ the goldmine sound bite. And when that detracts from focussing on what does cause accidents, then people do die.

Please read this as a person of the people, your main function, not of the mandarins and profiteers.