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