What changed was the perception of the seriousness with which the Government would address this problem. Up to then there had been much talk but it had not been backed up with action. The combination of those two things – talk and lack of action – added up to a single message – that the Government really did not care. Small wonder then that people did not change their attitudes and behaviour and that the carnage continued, as in previous years, at an unacceptably high level. When it came to road safety, we were trapped in an atmosphere of inertia. We lulled ourselves into accepting a certain level of road deaths as an inevitable part of modern life, something we could not change. We went on thinking this, despite the evidence from other countries that our level of road deaths was higher than it needed to be and that people's behaviour could be changed for the better. One of the most important things that has happened over the last three months is that we have shattered that inertia, at least for the moment. There is still danger – I hear that in other countries the first few months of a new regime work very well, before people slip back into bad habits. We must be careful.