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As with e.g. the online safety bill, I see them as part of our ever-ratcheting nannying/infantilisation of responsible adults. I believe this trend has corrosive effects both in terms of bringing the law into disrepute (and thus creating scofflaws - might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb) as well as interfering with fundamental liberties*.
*The speed limit thing isn't a fundamental liberty, but I'm referring to the overall problem type
Don't worry things have improved. We got rid of the dunking stool, stocks and gallows a long while ago.
BUT
Things like cars and the internet have come along since. These things have new risks and need addressing.
Cars have even got faster and more capable, I do think one reason people drive faster is because their new car feels safer than new cars did 20 or 30 years ago.
Internet pervades our families and outsiders have far more access to our children than fifty years ago,
I've spent many years working with the British public in a variety of industries and I was long since disabused of the notion that most of them were responsible adults.
Some of the irresponsible ones believe what they want to believe, some are just irresponsible, some have lower ability (not a sin) and some are just really stupid.
Coupled with speed enforcement it will reduce. There are not only two groups of people.
I can see that enforcing speed restrictions is easier than judging unsafe driving so it makes sense to detect dangerous driving that way.
Speed within reason doesn't cause that many accidents in and of itself. What it mostly does, though, is make them more severe. With energy being the square of speed it doesn't take much more speed to make collisions vastly more severe.
Someone driving at 40mph is almost certainly safer for themselves and others than someone driving at 60mph. This is slightly affected by the frustration it causes which might result in people doing dangerous overtakes, though.
In my view lower speed leads to less severe accidents. But also lower speed reduces the possibility of accidents. Certainly smaller speed differentials lead to less overtaking accidents.
And, I agree, people have to remember they share the roads with people of varying ability.
Given the numbers of people I experience
(1) pulling out of a side-road when they shouldn’t and then driving at 40 mph or sometimes less
and
(2) on motorways people doing well under 70 mph who change lanes to the right when they shouldn’t
I’m not sure this is the case at all. And in a lot of cases there’s an interesting correlation between people who make these dangerous errors and driving round in poorly maintained vehicles.
I’d more trust the 60 mph person whose focussing on what they’re doing and bothers to maintain their vehicle properly.
For (1) it could be a tired old banger but I think often it is simply someone who has no interest in getting up to the correct speed limit and thinks everyone doing the speed limit is going too fast anyway.
For (2) I tend to assume everyone has the right to overtake. I thus avoid frustration - well until they screw their overtaking manoeuvre up by using their brake lights before indicating. I do not appreciate two lorries taking miles to get past each other though !.
My bold - I suppose it is a judgement error - not really interested in safety so drives dangerously with no need to have a well maintained car.
My late Uncle (a former Police driving instructor) taught me at an early age that there are no unsafe roads. Just unsafe drivers.
Whilst I would be confident at driving safely at 60 on that road, I am also confident that not many other people would be, including most people I would be taking as passengers. I can already hear Mrs Bald Rick shouting at me.
Given that the number of single track roads that are suitable for 60mph is, in my experience of driving all over the country, relatively small, I think a blanket 50 on such roads would be acceptable. This is particularly the case given the significant rise in lesiure cycling on such roads.
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Yes, better to have relatively simple rules. Then no doubts.
Re excessive speed differentials between the outside lane and the one next to it, the blame for any ‘close calls’ involving slower cars pulling out to overtake, at least half the blame should be on the driver that has clearly failed to properly judge the closing speed of the car they’re about to block. Obviously the faster car should be cautious of that, but it isn’t their fault that someone can’t use their mirrors.
Judging speed by use of a magnifying mirror can be difficult. Especially as one is not usually devoting most of their attention to something other than what is in front of them !.
BUT =>
Perhaps the driver of the car pulling out is expecting the one they end up blocking to be travelling no faster than 70mph? Going. as some do. much faster than that creates the danger and is entirely and absolutely the speeder's fault.
I have a theory that a proportion of middle lane cruisers do so because enough faster drivers have not let them out of lane one in the past.
To be fair I think most middle lane cruisers are not thinking. It also amazes me how often I see drivers slow down rather change lane then once slowed down they struggle to get into an over taking lane. The number of times I have seen someone fail to take advantage of the gap I have in front of me that way. It makes a lot more sense if I assume their not good at looking behind.
Lets not forget it is probably a bit complicated for some.
This is the heart of the problem - inattentive drivers. The actual speeds involved don’t really matter.
I would say speed has more than one problem. Primarily when things go wrong the bad effects (damage and/or death) are much greater with increased speed. Also increased speed leads to more accidents as it relies on better judgement from all concerned.
Just this morning I have had two people pull out on me as I was right on them, in both cases having to make an emergency brake and swerve, and in both cases the drivers concerned were completely oblivious to what they had done, in the second case even after I gave her the benefit of my very best industrial language (she pulled out of a side road at abiut 7mph, whilst simultaneously mounting the pavement intending to park).
I was on my bike, wearing HV orange, with a high intensity flashing front light, also shouting rather loadly. Impossible to miss in my opinion.
One thing I learnt riding a bike (well mainly motorbikes) is that one is invisible in many cases as the vehicle is so narrow. I learnt to anticipate when a likely driver was likely to pull out on me. More recently I have learnt that the cause is that a narrow vehicle is primarily judged as a normally sized vehicle a long way off. It takes a better look/concentration to realise it is a small vehicle that is very much closer. Not fair but I always viewed it as in my best interests to accept the risk to myself.
