GaryCat

Here's my idea... for the next 5 years, the entire driving public (and that means everybody) drives at or below the posted speed limit. Yes. That's it.

I believe this will have several effects -

1. Speed cameras will fall into disrepair as it will be no longer financially viable to maintain them.

2. Police Forces will be unable to justify deploying officers in "Safety enforcement" vans as they will be a waste of time so the officers will have to do something more useful.

3. Police statistics for convictions will fall dramatically forcing them to concentrate on solving real crimes.

4. The accident rate will not fall forcing the government to rethink their "Speed Kills" policy and introduce better driver education and training.


Discuss.

[Edited by GaryCat - 10/25/2003 6:51:25 PM]

astraboy

Nice idea, with the best of intentions, but the how will you make everybody keep to the speed limit? Enforce it? If you do that then you're just as bad a s the rozzers.
astraboy.

mwp

5 years ... you're havin a giraffe.

i don't mind if everyone else does tho'

matty01

Why not make speed limits legaly binding, not just a rough guide to what your speed should be ,as they are now.

matty01

Well if they are legally binding why aren't there speed traps and cameras all over trying to put points on peoples licences so they slow down and save some death on the roads, then , eh?

BlackScoobyWRX

I'll have some of what you're on matty01 !!
Must be nice to be spaced out - you obviously don't drive coz if you did you'd notice that there is fookin' speed cameras everywhere trying to put points on peoples licences as you put it, oh and not forgetting the pot of gold into the Treasury eh !!
The vast majority of people killed on our roads are killed by those on drugs or falling asleep at the wheel, not speed.
Come back to Earth m8 !!

kelvin

Sarcasm is wasted on some people it seems...

hedgehog

In areas where the speed limits were found to be realistic and where convictions were not generating enough income the limits have been reduced.

So, while there is a certain logic to your idea in the real world of putting the boot into the motorist they would just keep reducing the speed limits until you had no choice but to break them in order to be able to get to work and back on the same day.

Of late it has been not uncommon to see perfectly reasonable 60mph limits being reduced, some as far as 30mph, thereby providing an ideal tax collection area. Once everyone starts driving through them at 30mph it seems likely they will be further reduced to 20mph.

Last night Paul Gilroy, Northumbria Police's Acting Chief Inspector of motor patrols, said "Speed cameras
don't reduce casualties - they are just for revenue generation." That's the story right from the horse's mouth.

matty01

Well that'll do for the sarcasm then
My point is that people speed through 30 limits to the point where if i want to go through at 30 they are right up my ar*e, [as though they will get where they are going quicker if they are right behind me ]
What is wrong with human nature that we can't drive at 30 therby not risking pros/pers..ecution ,i'm not preaching 'cos 30 bugs me sometimes, but tailgating bugs me more...
Paul Gilroy has got it wrong,this may be his personal opinion but how many people have you seen with 6 or 9 points on there licence who haven't changed their driving accordingly,i dont know about you but i've been driving long enough to know that people don't drive as fast now on motorways as they used to 10 years ago,and this goes for town driving generally, and this overall constitutes a safer road.
I've seen enough people be pulled out infront of to know that many people on&off motorways will speed and expect people to asses their speed on the approach to junctions and the like but people don't do this enough, driver education in an ideal world would be a preference but it's one thing to say it and another to put it into practice and not cheap either,wheras speed cameras put points on licences and do slow people down IF he says speed doesn't attribute to accidents and isn't easy (by comparison) to enforce then he may want to think again.
Speed cameras still bug me but limits are for everyone if we don't like it then risk getting caught,or find a 'safer' road I don't see limits bieng reduced just to catch more motorists and if you have any hard evidence of this i hope it all comes out in the tabloids as it would be a disgrace

Lord Jeffery Wode esq.

fool

midget1500

NO NO NO

get everyone to speeds everywhere (except in places it's not safe to do so). then everyone will lose their license and the country will fall into disrepair!

remember, laws only work not because they are enforced but because the majority of the people subjected to the laws agree with them and self enforce them. if everyone went out tommorrow and went through a few cameras at 5mph over the limit and got 12 points etc then the system would fail. heck, you don't need everyone - just say 10% of the population! then keep driving, what can happen? place them all in jail?

hum ho...

matty01

fool? lets read your expert opinion on speeding then Jef.

[Edited by matty01 - 10/26/2003 1:06:03 AM]

[Edited by matty01 - 10/26/2003 1:06:52 AM]

powerman

Id say that anyone who has to keep looking at his speedo every 3 or 4 mins is bl**dy dangerous at any speed,best keep your eyes on the road etc.and theres no doubt about it MONEY MONEY is what the cameras etc are for.I think that every one has broken the speed limit at some time even these preachers in high places but they would never admit it ...shock horror..

pugoetru

I done 31mph today and it made me dizzy 30mph is more than enough

jasey

Surely the answer is the exact opposite to the original suggestion. There should be a speeding ammnesty (like the gun ones etc). 2.5 hours into the speeding ammnesty the problem would be gone forever - Speed Kills and all the speeders would be dead !