[size=150]EDIT:
Mod is now released. Visit this post for details.[/size]
Hello,
Thanks to Cliff modifying the game slightly in the last (1.11) patch, adding to the main simulation variables (eg, crime) is now much easier and doesn’t tamper with the users settings! As such I’m starting to build the mod detailed below to see how straight forwarding slotting extra values into the game really is.
and was wanting any suggestions and/or comments people might have.
The mod will include several elements. The main one of which will be the new “Road Safety” simulation value. This is made worse by high levels of car usage and improved by better roads, speed cameras, police etc. Low safety will lower lifespan, upset Motorists and Parents, increase the chance of the “Gridlock” situation, increase the chance of “Hospital Overcrowding” situation and slightly damage GDP.
Points to consider:
Would the “Emissions Limits” policy slightly improve safety (with high inertia) as lower emissions could translate into less powerful cars?
Same question for “Car Tax” and “Petrol Tax” but because owners will buy cheaper vehicles for less tax and drive more carefully to save on fuel?
Would “Subsidised School Buses” improve safety as there would be less foot traffic and stop/go driving around schools to cause accidents?
In addition to this I was considering the following as a starting point:
Policies:
Driver Licensing - Set how strict your driving license procedures are (age limits, etc). Higher settings will improve safety, lower driver numbers, upset Motorists and Liberals(?) and cause a small increase in crime (because of unlicensed drivers).
Traffic Police - Extended spending on dedicated traffic police. Improves Saftey, but higher settings would annoy Motorists and Liberals(?).
Situations:
Illegal Drivers - Caused by high settings for “Driver Licensing” (above) and “Car Tax”. High levels of “Car Usage” also make this more likely. Essentially lots of drivers without a license, tax, insurance and all the other legal bits that are required. Increases crime, upsets Motorists, Conservatives(?) and Parents(?). Costs you money.
Dilemmas:
Ban the use of Mobile Phones while driving? - “Yes” improves safety, cheers up parents and upsets motorists and liberals. It would also increase crime as people will disobey the law.
Any comments and suggestions please!
I suspect that illegal drivers would upset the middle classes quite a lot. they are the people more likely to pay all their taxes and be outraged that some people are not paying theirs.
I guess the size of the police force and the existence of sped cameras or CCTV cameras should affect the extent to which there is an illegal driver problem.
what about driving laws?(Drinking and driving, seatbelt laws…)
also car crashes?
seatbelt laws is a good one… I remember that coming in in the UK. and didnt french drivers buy t shirts with black stripes across them to make it look like they had one on?
Seatbelt law is a good suggestion. I think I shall make it a Dilemma as I imagine once implemented a government isn’t going to reverse the law.
Car crashes are effectively part of the Road Safety simulation value, but there is an Event for a very nasty one - if you have a bad safety score.
Drink Driving I have assumed to be illegal - also weak Alcohol Laws and the “Binge Drinking” situation both lower the Safety value.
I was considering a situation which crops up mainly when you have low car usage (Like the Internet Crime that crops up when you have high 'net Usage it is effectively something that crops up when you are doing too well). Then only thing I can think of is something like Illegal Street Racing as there are lots of wide open roads. But I’m still not 100% that it would really fit in properly. 
Anyone got any alternative ideas?
I’ve gone to write the Seatbelt Law dilemma just now have a hit a major stumbling point:
What’s a good arguement for NOT enforcing seatbelt use?
Quite frankly other than a “personal freedom” type arguement (which seems a bit weak to me), I cannot think of something I consider plausable.
I cannot remember a time when not wearing them was not illegal (either the law came in before I was born or I was too young to notice!) which I imagine does not help.
some people(like me) see it as a invasion of personal freedom…
I recall when the UK introduced it, that people who drove cars for a living and made many stops (like taxi drivers and delivery drivers) said it was very inefficient and inconvenient for them. People also complained it was uncomfortable.
Maybe I’ve been brainwashed by the law but I feel really unsafe if I’m in the front of a car without one on. Having said that I think its silly wearing them in the back of the car, even though lots of people do so.
I was under the impression that in the UK you were required to wear a belt in any seat of a car? (assuming one is available)
And even sat in the back of a car in an accident it is still possible to be throw out of the vehicle (I image it’s a lot less likely compared to front seats, but still) - or you can be thrown into the front seats, injuring yourself and possibly the occupant of the seat you hit.
However, back to the mod:
I’m thinking of switching the dilemma to not cover the use of seat belts in general but to something like the recent tightening of laws here in the UK around child restraints. After the recent change (May 2005 or 06 I think it came into force) it means that until a child reaches 12 years old (or reach 4ft 5in) they must be sat in a special seat - even if it is just a “booster” seat. Prior to the change I think once they’d got past about 3 or 4 years there were no legal requirements other than as per standard seatbelt laws. However, I did read that small children can apparently recieve injures from adult seat belts because these belts do not distribute force properly across the wearer, unless they are a certain size (eg, adult).
At the time the change upset a lot of parents of children in the range of about 8-11 as they often did not have these types of seats but suddenly would be required to. They’re also not cheap (my daughters second seat will do her from 9mnths to 4yrs, and cost me about £140 
). They’re were also a lot of issues surrounding the use of taxis and regarding parents with three children (because 3 child seats will not fit in anything except the biggest cars - and in small cars 2 child seats would make the middle seat unusable to anyone).
Thoughts?
As for progress I’m really just organising this and then have balancing to do before a release an initial version.
Here’s version 1, it took longer than expected to put together due to various reasons, so apologies for the delay.
Features:
New simulation variable (Road Safety)
2 new Policies (Driver Licensing, Traffic Polic)
2 new Situations (Illegal Drivers, Illegal Street Racing)
1 new Event (Worst Recorded Multi-Vehicle Crash)
3 new Dilemmas (Child Seat Law, Use of Mobile Phones While Driving, Compulsary Elderly Driver Retesting)
Unfortunatly I still cannot seem to get DDS files to save into the correct format. As such all the images for polices and situations are duplicates of those used elsewhere in the game. I’ve tried to avoid using confusing ones.
Comments, etc?
EDIT:
Version 1.1 includes minor type fix. Install over previous version.
RoadSafety1.1.zip (26.4 KB)
I downloaded and installed this Mod, now the game will not start
Can you please be more specific about the problem? Otherwise I cannot help to solve it for you.
Does it fail as you turn on the game? Or only when loading a mission?
What error message are you recieving?
Also, it might be worth you checking the file locations given in the readme file to make sure everything is in the correct place.
Finally, can you run the game so that it fails and then place a copy of your debug.txt file from the \Democracy2\debugdata\ folder here, as that might help work out the problem.
I’ve had a look over all the file included in the mod and have spotted a dropped quotation mark in one of the dilemmas. However I don’t think that should be causing your game to crash as it was not causing a proper issue on my system.
For anyone using this version 1.1 is released above - please install over the top of your previous version.
Has anyone else experianced any problems while using this?