Speeding - Sometimes safe but not according to Plod....
Discussion
So I received my very first speeding ticket today. It was just south of Glencoe, on an arrow straight section of a road I know very well. I was caught by a hidden car with a mobile camera (sneaky b
ds...) I'm not grumbling about the fact that I got a ticket, cards on the table I was speeding (80 in a 60 if you want to know), I broke the law and I'll accept the consequences like a man. I was not driving dangerously or aggressively, just cruising at 80 along a straight, open road. But the limit is 60 and I was breaking it. Still, bloody sneaky hidden-behind-a-bush policemen....
It got me thinking though. The reason speed limits exist is because that's the maximum speed deemed to be safe on that given section of road. Any faster than that, and you're deemed to be a danger, in the eyes of the law. However using flat speed limits as a safety measure obviously ONLY takes into account how fast a car is going. It doesn't take into account many other factors that can influence how safe a given situation is, like road conditions, the condition of the car or indeed who the driver is. So in certain situations, a driver who is obeying the speed limit could still be a danger but not receive a ticket, and a driver who isn't obeying the speed limit but is actually perfectly safe will be punished.
Let me give an extreme example. Two scenarios of two drivers, both driving along a 60mph limit road:
Car: beaten up old Vauxhall Nova
Driver: 85 year old man
Tyres: budget wellies
Conditions: nighttime and raining
Nature of road: fairly twisty
Does he know the road?: not at all
Speed driving: 60mph
Car: Nissan GT-R
Driver: Sebastien Loeb
Tyres: Bridgestone Potenza
Conditions: daytime and bone dry
Nature of road: open and flowing
Does he know the road?: very well
Speed driving: 70mph
Which of these two drivers will be given a ticket, designed to punish "dangerous" driving? Exactly. Loeb will be given a ticket for his trouble, despite being an incredibly capable driver in an incredibly capable car, whereas the OAP in the deathtrap will receive no such thing.
Obviously a penalty system that took into account all the above factors would be horribly convoluted and littered with mitigating circumstances, so such a thing will never be implemented. And I can't help but feel that the current system, although occasionally perfectly fair, also punishes a large number of drivers who, looked at objectively and logically, were no danger to themselves or others.
ds...) I'm not grumbling about the fact that I got a ticket, cards on the table I was speeding (80 in a 60 if you want to know), I broke the law and I'll accept the consequences like a man. I was not driving dangerously or aggressively, just cruising at 80 along a straight, open road. But the limit is 60 and I was breaking it. Still, bloody sneaky hidden-behind-a-bush policemen....It got me thinking though. The reason speed limits exist is because that's the maximum speed deemed to be safe on that given section of road. Any faster than that, and you're deemed to be a danger, in the eyes of the law. However using flat speed limits as a safety measure obviously ONLY takes into account how fast a car is going. It doesn't take into account many other factors that can influence how safe a given situation is, like road conditions, the condition of the car or indeed who the driver is. So in certain situations, a driver who is obeying the speed limit could still be a danger but not receive a ticket, and a driver who isn't obeying the speed limit but is actually perfectly safe will be punished.
Let me give an extreme example. Two scenarios of two drivers, both driving along a 60mph limit road:
Car: beaten up old Vauxhall Nova
Driver: 85 year old man
Tyres: budget wellies
Conditions: nighttime and raining
Nature of road: fairly twisty
Does he know the road?: not at all
Speed driving: 60mph
Car: Nissan GT-R
Driver: Sebastien Loeb
Tyres: Bridgestone Potenza
Conditions: daytime and bone dry
Nature of road: open and flowing
Does he know the road?: very well
Speed driving: 70mph
Which of these two drivers will be given a ticket, designed to punish "dangerous" driving? Exactly. Loeb will be given a ticket for his trouble, despite being an incredibly capable driver in an incredibly capable car, whereas the OAP in the deathtrap will receive no such thing.
Obviously a penalty system that took into account all the above factors would be horribly convoluted and littered with mitigating circumstances, so such a thing will never be implemented. And I can't help but feel that the current system, although occasionally perfectly fair, also punishes a large number of drivers who, looked at objectively and logically, were no danger to themselves or others.
Edited by thatguy11 on Saturday 16th August 21:37
Edited by thatguy11 on Saturday 16th August 21:38
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