You sure?

I seem to recall a detour into a field in France

 

I knew you'd pick up on that one.

Well I don't class it as an accident as nobody got hurt, only I was involved and no damage was done.

Speed certainly wasn't a factor in that incident though, driving to the conditions was, which, strangely enough, goes to prove the point I was making above.

 

Speed does cause serious accidents ... but it tends to go with not having a licence, not having insurance and being a complete k*ob behind the wheel .... oh, and lets not forget those couple of pints as well...

Not concentrating and/or having no skill also goes with speeding to cause some absolutely horrendous accidents.

Quite how reducing the limit and installing cameras everywhere is going to sort out the people who shouldn't be driving in the first place is beyond me.

The number of uninsured and unlicensed drivers out there is frightening. They bother me somewhat more than someone doing just over ACPO guidelines for speed enforcement !

 

it's beyond everyone John, but then that isn't the point is it?

any more than the point is to reduce casualties

but it will rake in tens of millions

from, taxed, insured, gainfully employed, soft-touch motorists

 

I'll walk in front of you - red flag in hand -

 

Another piece of motherhood that will be a jobs for life bonanza.

 

[QUOTE=mikerich,Mar 8 2009, 04:22 PM]
I'll walk in front of you - red flag in hand -

 

I've been considering giving up my pastime of thrashing silly cars around the countryside for a while now. This is the sort of thing that could push me over the edge.

However I simply cannot see how they are going to police such a new law. Where I am has hundreds of miles worth of b-roads, and putting in average speed cameras throughout them all would be hideously (or prohibitively) expensive.

The local police have told me several times to keep my fun driving to the b-roads as they have no interest in policing them. No one dies in their juristiction very often, but they do in Dumfries & Galloway. Mostly new drivers who have no experience on such roads, particularly at speed. The fact that overtaking isn't taught (despite being a necessity in that part of the world) is a disgrace, and far more likely a cause of deaths on the road than speed.

If it goes through, I think I will hand in my driving license to my MP. Although the fact this is the first I've heard of this scheme suggests the source may be over-egging it slightly. I'd be in favour of councils having the right to reduce the speed limit of particularly dangerous stretches, but only via public consultations, with evidence to prove that speed was the cause of the majority of accidents.

 

I can actually see this talking more people into getting bikes.
Considering they cannot be caught by average speed cameras.

Well .... not without a hell of a lot of work / research.

 

I'd be interested to know that when speed is a factor in accidents, as to how much they were speeding by.

Those who crashed at say 90mph on an A road with a 60mph limit have completely ignored the limit so making it 50mph would have no change on that fact.

The average speed bit will / might - so you're putting the cameras up to mean people "can't" speed.

Why the need to reduce the limit?