Speeding: An excellent law destroyed by dumb enforcement.
The offence of exceeding the speed limit was sensibly created to
improve road safety and offer guidance to drivers. When it is
applied with intelligence it can do exactly that, and indeed
generally until about 1985 that's exactly what we had.
Much modern publicity suggests that perhaps 29.9 mph is safe
and legal, while 30.1 mph is dangerous and illegal. Many people
accept the law at face value and condemn speeding drivers as
dangerous. But thinking people all know that reality differs.
Sometimes 40 mph in a 30 mph limit is a perfectly sensible
speed. More frequently on other roads at other times 30 mph is
dangerously fast.
But speed limits are by their very nature arbitrary. In almost
all circumstances the speed limit is not the best speed to drive
at. As local conditions vary the optimum speed varies too. For
example on a foggy winters day with on a busy motorway a driver
can legally travel at 70 mph, however most drivers are aware
that travelling at this speed in that weather is not advisable.
On the other hand on a clear day on a quiet motorway, 70 mph
seems very slow, most drivers can drive can drive comfortably
over 80+ mph in these conditions without any increased danger.
Unfortunately driving at 80 mph on a clear day will get you a
speeding ticket and driving at 70 mph on that foggy day will be
classed as perfectly fine by the police. This concept of a
driver being able to know what is a safe speed limit is called
the 85th percentile rule. This rule states that 85% of drivers
facing no speed limits will drive at similar speeds due to their
judgement on the conditions and road they are travelling on.
With approximately 15% of people being unable to judge what
speed they should travel at. The fact that 15% of people cannot
perceive what the safe limit to drive is a good argument for the
enforcement of speed limits. However the issues arise when
incompetent councillors are responsible for setting what speed
limits are. The limits often tend to be ridiculous and cause
frustration for many drivers. This frustration is often enhanced
by the councillors that impose a lower speed limit on a road
then erect a speed camera to catch out drivers. This make it
look like many councils do this as a form of income and it has
been shown that some speed cameras can earn hundreds of
thousands of pounds for a council. They truly are a cash cow for
many councils whilst they scam as much money out for drivers as
possible.
Due to the increasing number of speed cameras many drivers have
had to resort to using Speed Camera Detectors to avoid getting
caught out. This is not because drivers want to break the law;
it is purely to allow them to drive with peace of mind without
getting a speed ticket every time they go down a road that has
just had a new camera installed. It has been proven that camera
detectors actually improve safety for driver, as without them
they spend time looking out for speed signs or cameras when they
should be concentrating on the road. Currently a speeding ticket
will cost you