TransportOne of the aspects of the media reporting on a disaster such as that at the Spanish caravan camp, or Flixborough, is that a false idea may be given of how the hazards should be overcome. I feel that as engineers who are supposed to be trying to cope with these hazards we ought to guide the public a little more and dispute with the media when they make references and statements which are misleading.44. With some of the hazards that one should take account of, the risks may be unmentionable, as the Author says, for security reasons. However, this should not preclude us from including them in our assessment and in our justification for the measures which we propose. I consider that the ring roads around major conurbations, such as the M25 and the M42, should be justified in the eyes of the public not only on the basis of the traffic which will.use them and the accidents which will be prevented generally, but on the basis of what will be the situation in the event of some major civil calamity taking place in the conurbation-an event such as that at Flixborough-when access is needed for a considerable number of emergency services and there is a requirement for exit perhaps in a very rapid way. Yet we do not really take things of this sort into account, and d o not publicly say so even if we do.45. The recent policy White Paper on roads points out that designs are taking 10-15 years to come to fruition and says that the decisions which are taken in that period of 1G15 years should include considerations of risk; we should not wait until the end of that period before we decide what the risks are likely to be 15 years later. We ought to be thinking of the hazards of the future and building the solutions into our designs, perhaps in the cost/benefit way that the Author has described. M r J. L. Hammond, Department of Transport I congratulate the Author on presenting a theory which can be developed over the years. I think, however, that its development in relation to roads is much before its time.M r R. J. Bridle, Chief Highway Engineer, Department of Transport It is essential t o identify all the risks involved and list them. There is no analytical substitute for that. Secondly, imagination is again necessary to describe the outcome of decisions taken. Analysis can only begin once all the possible decisions have been generated and their consequences set down. Comprehensiveness is very important a t this stage and time taken in 'brainstorming' among colleagues is well worth expending if none of the feasible decisions and possible outcomesis to be overlooked.
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