Don't speed if you are in England (Full Version)

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Gwynvyd -> Don't speed if you are in England (11/10/2007 6:17:47 AM)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/news/2007/11/09/nspeed109.xml
Drivers face disqualification for speeding twice

Last Updated: 7:30am GMT 09/11/2007





Speeding drivers could be disqualified after only two offences under a new penalty system to be unveiled in a consultation paper to be published by Christmas.
As revealed by the Daily Telegraph in September, motorists caught traveling at 45mph in a 30mph zone would receive a penalty of six points and a £100 fine.
This is twice as high as the existing penalty of 3 points on the license with a £60 fine but ministers want enforce the rules to send a clear message to speeding drivers.

The proposals are aimed at distinguishing between the driver who marginally drifts over the speed limit and the one who flagrantly flouts it.
There are more than 1.1 million drivers in Britain with six or more points on their license and under the new law could be banned immediately if they were caught speeding again.
Currently motorists are given up to four chances, - they can take a speed awareness course to avoid the first penalty and then commit three more before the next offence leads to a ban.
But ministers want to change the system and reinforce the message that even minor breeches of the speed limit can kill.
Previous research has shown that a pedestrian who is hit by a car at 35 mph is twice as likely to be killed as one hit at 30mph.
Motoring organizations have been cautious about the proposals and say that new speed signs should be installed in line with the changes.
Andrew Howard, the head of road safety at the AA, said that where they are looking to increase the number of penalty points, it would have to be accompanied by the introduction of better signage where the limit drops by more than 10mph.
“We would be concerned about a person getting extra points in a case where someone has missed the sign


All I know is here in the States you have to kill a few people with your car before they take your lic. away. Heck you can get 2 speeding tickets in one day... I would be fighting this one folks.

Not that I am a bad driver or anything.. but what if you miss the sign and you fight it in court, and they simply dont care.


Gwyn,
Who never drives the speedlimit unless there is a cop behind, or in front of her.. and some times not even then.



pahunkboy -> RE: Don't speed if you are in England (11/10/2007 6:28:43 AM)

traffic tickets can be - well- there are times they seem to simply meet quota.  my last 3 tickets were on i80. 2 of them i deserved. one was SO embarrassing as mom was with me. It looked like I was jeopardizing her life, then she got too chatty with the officer. I wanted him to quickly do his job and leave. In other words- the wrong attitude=- one can get more then one ticket.  I never sped until I wrecked my back.

i doubt i have any points as they would have dropped off by now. + i hardly drive these days.



winterlight -> RE: Don't speed if you are in England (11/10/2007 7:20:29 AM)

I drive the speed limit. Do i at times go over? yes and then i back off the pedal.  The reason i try and not go the speed limit:  Many years ago i was driving through my neighborhood and i came around a corner. Two men were standing on the sidewalk with a black sportscar. They were visibly upset. On the road in front of me was an  8 year old boy who had been knocked off his bike by that sports car. That little boy had no helmet or any protective gear on him. I will never, EVER forget that. I was about to get out and help when a sheriff deputy came up and took charge.

I always wondered if that little boy lived. I ALWAYS think of his face, his body position etc. as he laid on the ground...



meatcleaver -> RE: Don't speed if you are in England (11/10/2007 7:22:04 AM)

Given the amount of traffic on the roads I'm surprised anyone can find a stretch of road where they can speed in the first place. When I used to live in London and the south east I used to average 10 mph to work.



susie -> RE: Don't speed if you are in England (11/10/2007 7:34:41 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: meatcleaver

Given the amount of traffic on the roads I'm surprised anyone can find a stretch of road where they can speed in the first place. When I used to live in London and the south east I used to average 10 mph to work.


How true. I live in Hampshire and travel 19 miles to work. I do the first 17 miles in 15 minutes. The other 2 miles takes me 15 minutes.

At the moment the UK seems obsessed with clamping down on the motorist. What they forget is that until the government can come up with an adequate public transport system people have no choice but to use cars.



RealityLicks -> RE: Don't speed if you are in England (11/10/2007 7:36:11 AM)

Hmmm, not to sure that on this one they haven't got it right. I live in Central London and I can tell you, doing 45mph on some of the smaller roads is pretty reckless. I only really move on motorways or dual carriageways where the limit is 70mph and 60, respectively. Being 10 or 15mph over the limit there is generally ignored by the law (as long as there are no cameras) and I think they should raise the speed limit on those, because hardly anyone observes it anyway.

But doing 45mph in a built up area is both risky and a bit pointless, because you're really only rushing to the next set of lights. And most of London was built for the horse, not the car. Better to cultivate a bit of Zen motoring in a place like this. I wasn't always like this but have spent long enough driving flat out with my wing mirrors inches from others' on both sides for it to lose a little allure.

Also, I've had friends be hit by cars - that brings it home.

Think the idea behind this new initiative is to make speeding as taboo as drink-driving. Collecting a fine costs as much as setting it and most people aren't put off by paying a few quid here and there to do what they want. Take away their licenses and you get their attention.

Now after sounding so law-abiding, I'll get nicked this weekend.



Gwynvyd -> RE: Don't speed if you are in England (11/10/2007 7:54:01 AM)

I would never recomend speeding in town, or in populated areas. Far too dangerous. All of ( ok most.. ) my speeding in on the highway. I live in a large city now ( St.Petersburg / Tampa Florida in fact ) and the general speed limit on the highway is 65. My PT Cruiser is a silver blur at about 90 mph. ( as long as no sodding moron is in front of me ) I have taken a lot of driving courses though... so I know how to watch out for morons on all sides.

I dont think I could deal with a larger city where I didnt have freedom of movement.

Gwyn



RealityLicks -> RE: Don't speed if you are in England (11/10/2007 8:01:25 AM)

I often don't drive for days, though I'm inside the congestion charge zone. It's a mile to the City and about the same to the West End. So, like Kwai Chang Caine: I ... walk.

But yeah, this new law is about built-up areas. They have a 30mph limit, which some want taken down to 20 in some places. Know what you mean about the motorway - why is it people who stick strictly to 70 also feel the need to glue themselves to the middle lane? I mean, just get out and push the thing.



seeksfemslave -> RE: Don't speed if you are in England (11/10/2007 8:25:40 AM)

The rank dishonesty underlying the claim that speeding is necessarilly dangerous is just now being exposed.
In the motoring section of todays (10th Nov)  Daily Telegraph it is claimed that only 3% of all accidents involve speeds greater than the relevant speed limit.
Someone took the trouble to read the stats. in a book the contents of which have been used to justify installing more and more speed cameras.

Another fact uncovered is that over the last few years as more and more cameras have been installed the rate of decrease of accidents has slowed. If cameras really did what those who support them claim then the opposite would occur.

Never get in the way of a PC thinker. They can threaten your livelyhood so that they can feel good about themselves. while at the same time making things worse.



RealityLicks -> RE: Don't speed if you are in England (11/10/2007 8:40:11 AM)

That article and the book it refers to is actually about speed cameras on the motorways. The proposed regulations are about driving in built-up areas, a totally different thing.

Can anyone tell me at what age older drivers have to re-take the driving test?



Gwynvyd -> RE: Don't speed if you are in England (11/10/2007 9:24:22 AM)

The old codgers here just mail in thier money.. and are renewed.. untill they crash through a building, or kill someone. We tried to get it changed when some old bastard rammed his big huge car through the front of a Home Depot, and agued that the building had not been there a moment before. He missed a lady and her 3 kids by 2 feet, and injured severial people. In the court case he was let off because he was old.. and all charges dropped.

My sub's father is legaly blind and the bastard still drives. The Dr. never had his lic. tooken away when they messed up his eyes in the last surgery. Glad I dont live in that town any more.

Here in Florida the elderly have more rights then the public to safety.

They are changing it on Oct 1, 2008 to require everyone to have vison tests every 5 years. ( about damn time )

Gwyn



TheHeretic -> RE: Don't speed if you are in England (11/10/2007 10:19:22 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Gwynvyd

My PT Cruiser is a silver blur at about 90 mph. ( as long as no sodding moron is in front of me ) I have taken a lot of driving courses though... so I know how to watch out for morons on all sides.


         Having spent half my life earning a living on the roads, I would strongly disagree with you about who the moron is.

        I would LOVE to see penalties like this on the roads around here.



seeksfemslave -> RE: Don't speed if you are in England (11/10/2007 11:15:41 AM)

The stats. show quite clearly who cause most serious road accidents...young men.
I have been riding a m'cycle 40 years, had a nice little spin this afternoon thank you and never had an accident. I hate speed cameras, there to make money, road humps, all they do is damage suspensions and traffic lights clearly designed to slow traffic down and  increase pollution . Traffic lights on roundabouts are the brainchild of the Devil. Hate 'em all I do !

I have been banned so I must be a dangerous driver.



popeye1250 -> RE: Don't speed if you are in England (11/10/2007 11:17:56 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Gwynvyd

The old codgers here just mail in thier money.. and are renewed.. untill they crash through a building, or kill someone. We tried to get it changed when some old bastard rammed his big huge car through the front of a Home Depot, and agued that the building had not been there a moment before. He missed a lady and her 3 kids by 2 feet, and injured severial people. In the court case he was let off because he was old.. and all charges dropped.

My sub's father is legaly blind and the bastard still drives. The Dr. never had his lic. tooken away when they messed up his eyes in the last surgery. Glad I dont live in that town any more.

Here in Florida the elderly have more rights then the public to safety.

They are changing it on Oct 1, 2008 to require everyone to have vison tests every 5 years. ( about damn time )

Gwyn


Gwyn, just out of curiosity do you know what percentage of those old codgers are driving Buicks?
Don't they have a law in Florida that says that you have to be a minimum of 80 years old to buy or drive a Buick?



seeksfemslave -> RE: Don't speed if you are in England (11/10/2007 12:46:29 PM)

quote: A recent report published by the RAC and AutoCar Magazine clearly establishes that the profile of people caught by cameras is totally different from the profile of those involved in accidents.
Most camera-catches are of middle-aged professionals.
Most accidents are caused by younger men.
In addition, the point has already been made that there appears to be little connection between speed camera placement and real accident blackspots. They seem to be positioned where they are most likely to catch the most number of people quickly.
So it really is very difficult to believe the propaganda that shows strong connections between more cameras and lower accidents or fatalities.



LadyEllen -> RE: Don't speed if you are in England (11/11/2007 6:32:42 AM)

I venture that it is not high speed which causes dangerous conditions leading to accidents - but inappropriate speed.

ie the twats I come across every time I go out in the car - who drive at 45mph in the town, 45mph in the country, 45mph on an open road and so on. The danger in town is obvious - the danger in the other two instances comes from those of us who have somewhere to be, rather than sauntering around the place causing needless emissions - trying to get past them.

The greatest danger is undoubtedly young men in towns - the greatest danger on the open road and second greatest in the town is old people and I'm sorry to say women of all ages. The young men are a danger because of over confidence - the old people and women because of a lack of confidence.

E



pahunkboy -> RE: Don't speed if you are in England (11/11/2007 6:40:19 AM)

the 1st snow no one knows how to drive. lol



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