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May 9, 2005
Speed
Sorry to disappoint, but this post has nothing to do with Category A or B proscribed substances.That almost perennial debate regarding speed limits on Britain's motorways has reared its head again.
Reuters - AA calls for some 80mph motorway limits: The AA called on the government on Monday to raise the speed limit on some motorways to 80 mph to help ease congestion.
The Automobile Association Motoring Trust did not call for a blanket increase but said the speed limit should be raised on stretches of "controlled" motorways -- those that already vary speed limits to match the conditions.
An excellent suggestion from the AA there. If there are times when 70 mph is too fast then there will also be times when 70 mph is too slow. For example, at 7:00am on a clear, dry Sunday morning with little or no traffic then why should drivers be restricted to 70mph?
Furthermore, this would only apply to those stretches of motorway which already have variable speed limits in place.
Of course you can always expect a balance, measured response from the road safety lobby. And this is a classic example:
Road safety campaigners said the plan would make motorways more dangerous.
"The government is trying to reduce the present level of death and injury on the roads and the way forward is not to increase the speed limit," said Brigitte Chaudhry of charity RoadPeace.
"A lot of people are already exceeding 70 mph on a regular basis and not being fined or punished for that. If it's raised to 80 mph then people will go to 90 mph."
Well, good to see that the road safety lobby has bought into the government's flawed policy, hook, line and sinker. For starters, the AA weren't advocating a blanket increase in the speed limit. Secondly, the increase would only apply to those stretches of motorway which already incorporate speed cameras.
Third, and most important, point to note is that speed, by itself, isn't a killer. The real issue is inappropriate speeding. For example, about 10 years ago I was caught doing 126 mph on the M180 in what was then South Humberside. My punishment was £40 fine and 3 points because, as the officer who caught me pointed out, the road conditions were good, traffic was light and I wasn't driving in a manner likely to endanger other road users, I was simply driving too fast. When doing the school run, I drive past 2 primary schools in 30mph zones. When I near both I reduce my speed to 20mph. Meanwhile I quite often see other drivers hurtling past at speeds above 30mph. And I've seen plenty of cars driven by someone under the influence of alcohol that never break the speed limit. But they don't get caught, because speed cameras have replaced police patrols.
If the Government were really commited to reducing the level of death and injury on the roads, the first thing it should do would be increase the number of police on patrol, rather than placing an excessive reliance on speed cameras. Until such time, I will continue to view the "speed kills" simpletons from the road safety lobby as mere pawns, used by the Government to support a flawed policy that places greater emphasis on raising revenue than it does on actually making the roads safer.
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Posted by Clive on May 9, 2005 2:42 PM in the category Old Stuff