I’ve long been concerned about how easily the government is swayed into adopting barmy rules and regulations for our roads; laws that criminalise perfectly safe driving. One of the reasons for this is that there are lots of tiny pressure groups all trying to outdo each other with ludicrous proposals – which in most cases have knocked the road safety clock back by several decades.
One such group is Brake; I’ve mentioned them before and if you don’t know just how out of touch with reality the group is, how’s this for a gem. In response to a woman being banned for driving on a motorway at 10mph, the group had this to say:
“This case sends out a very strange message to drivers. Mrs Cole was not breaking the speed limit or endangering anyone with her actions, yet she received a seven-day ban, when we commonly see drivers caught travelling at 80 or 90mph get away with a fine and three points. While it is not common to encounter someone travelling at 10mph on a motorway, a competent driver should always be looking well ahead and predicting when they need to overtake a slower vehicle”.
Hmmm, not endangering anyone else eh? Do these people never get behind the wheel themselves? It seems not, as a friend of mine was listening to the radio recently, and appearing on one of the programmes was a Brake spokesperson. She was asked whether she ever broke the speed limit, to which her reply was that she hardly ever drove, but that she had broken the limit. When pushed, she also revealed that few of Brake’s campaigners ever drive. If this is the case, how can they offer opinions on the mechanics of driving?
Unfortunately traffic regulations world-wide are targeting their speed limits etc against the lowest common denominator… i.e. those drivers who have recently acquired a driving license but have absolutely no real world experience of the required driving skills regarding car handling and/or understanding of road & traffic conditions, and those who simply do not have the mental/physical aptitude required for safe car handling, and will never be safe drivers, regardless of training etc.
AlfaMartini | 28 Feb 08 - 17:58I’ve carried out an “on road” survey in UAE related to my daily commute, and found that the number of drivers who exhibit safe driving abilities and car handling is approximately 10% of total. The vast majority have absolutely no awareness of lane discipline etc and inter-action with other traffic.
Ironically, at 10mph, Mrs Cole was in what she described as a “desperate rush to Staples to buy an ink cartridge!” If she’s in a desperate rush at 10mph, I’d hate to be stuck behind her at her relaxed, printer full of ink, driving speed!
Ken Adams | 03 Mar 08 - 14:26