Motorists face 'zero tolerance' approach to speeding on the motorways

[VectraMan]

I did the speed awareness course recently, and one thing they did was show a video demonstrating the non-linear way speed decreases when you brake hard. They had Tiff Needel doing an emergency stop from 30mph and just stopping short of hitting a cardboard cut out of a woman. With the same distance with him doing only 35mph it meant he hit her at 18mph. Ouch.

The other one was demonstrating motorway speed. If braking from 70mph you just stopped before hitting the stopped traffic in front, from 100mph you'd hit the same traffic still doing 70mph. A bit more than ouch.

This made everybody sit up and take notice.

One other thing was estimating the number of serious injuries and deaths on different types of roads. I had the right idea, but underestimated the numbers. Motorways have very few serious injuries or deaths, and the most common accident is rear ending the car in front at low speed. Urban roads come next, but you're generally going slower, and rural roads are the worst because you have high speed junctions, head on collisions, trees, and there's always the possibility that you end up upside down in a ditch and nobody discovers your car for three days.

Stats here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Report..._Great_Britain

Motorway: 6% deaths, 3% serious injuries
Urban: 42% deaths, 65% serious injuries
Rural: 52% deaths, 32% serious injuries

But of course motorways have far more traffic than rural roads.

So it's pretty clear that if you want to improve road safety motorways should be the last thing to be targeting.

[darmstadt]

You mean middle class people who pay their taxes, do not commit crime, have strong family values and represent everything that is good about the British way of life that people like you take full advantage of/

What like contractors?

[DodgyAgent]

Difference between 71 and 72? 72 and 73? 99and 100? You have to raw the line somewhere.

As I said, bigger issue is doing 31 in a 30 zone. That is BAD!

Nothing wrong with walking the streets with a knife. If you just bought it from a shop and it is wrapped. Does not mean knives should be banned. It just needs to be used in the right way at the right time.

If you have to "draw the line somewhere" then say it. Don't say or imply that someone who breaks a speed limit is driving any more dangerously than someone who is not breaking it. Speed limits exist mainly as a means of control. I accept that when someone breaks them they are exposing themselves to a possible prosecution Nevertheless it is about control and we can do without the manipulative lie that by breaking the speed limit we are automatically driving dangerously.

[CoolCat]

I got done by a camera for pulling through a red light to let a flashing blue light behind me through. Something anyone decent would do where it is safe to do so. Not the view of the authorities who went through with the process of doing me. An absolute disgrace.

Join the Association of British Drivers.

[DodgyAgent]

What like contractors?

Yes

[vetran]

So it's pretty clear that if you want to improve road safety motorways should be the last thing to be targeting.

But of course that is where the money is..

[vetran]

I got done by a camera for pulling through a red light to let a flashing blue light behind me through. Something anyone decent would do where it is safe to do so. Not the view of the authorities who went through with the process of doing me. An absolute disgrace.

Join the Association of British Drivers.

the law is the law...

[DodgyAgent]

the law is the law...

And rules are rules

[BrilloPad]

I got done by a camera for pulling through a red light to let a flashing blue light behind me through. Something anyone decent would do where it is safe to do so. Not the view of the authorities who went through with the process of doing me. An absolute disgrace.

Join the Association of British Drivers.

The highway code is clear. Never break the law to let through a blue light. If someone dies as a result - not your problem.

[OwlHoot]

The “zero-tolerance” approach to motorway speeding is the brainchild of Bedfordshire Police and would be rolled out across a busy stretch of the M1, used by tens of thousands of cars each day. " ...

Had me worried for a minute, as I bomb up and down the M4 and M5 at an average of 90 MPH twice a week.

But that stretch of the M1 round Northampton has had always-on speed cameras for twenty years.

So in short, nothing to see here, move along ...

P.S. God the Telegraph is shyte these days, rehashing that non-story.