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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 traveling 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 traveling 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 is 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 the speed limits are. The limits often tend to be ridiculous and cause frustration for many drivers.

What many drivers feel would be beneficial to everyone would be for qualified traffic engineers to set traffic speeds, these people will understand the 85th percentile rule and can set a safe speed limit for a road.

Secondly police need to be taught when they should issue a speeding ticket, for example a car caught doing 90 mph on a clear motorway would be let off however a car caught doing 35 mph near a school at 3:30 pm would get a ticket. Unfortunately this is unlikely to happen as councils seem to enjoy frustrating drivers by erecting speed cameras everywhere and anywhere to catch drivers out. This makes 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 of 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 £60 and 3 points on your licence. This means if you are caught out 3 times, which would not be hard for most drivers, you will face a £180 fine and the loss of your licence. If your job is based on driving a loss of it could cost far more than £180, it could lead to a massive loss or earnings or even worse a loss of your job.

For a small investment of £150 you can now purchase an Indic8tor speed camera Detector, this incorporates the latest GPS technology, so it knows exactly where speed cameras are to make sure you can concentrate on the road with your full attention and not worry about losing your licence. This product is completely legal on UK roads so there is no reason why you should not invest such a small amount of money in such a fantastic product.