GRADUATED SPEEDING PENALTIES MISS THE POINT SAYS SAFE SPEED
11 January 2005 - Safe Speed

Parliament today will discuss the Road Safety Bill which includes a proposal for ''graduated speeding penalties''.

Clearly the Government recognises that there is a problem with the law as it is currently being used, but this ''solution'' is dangerously wrong, says Safe Speed.

The high number of automated prosecutions of speed limit offences has exposed an weakness in the laws on speeding. While it is perfectly possible to drive dangerously fast, few people do so. Speed cameras now detect millions of offences completely without reference to the circumstances and the conditions at the time. The vast majority of people prosecuted were driving at a safe and appropriate speed. This has broken the link between the law and safe behaviour, and the graduated penalty proposal will make it worse.

Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed road safety campaign
(www.safespeed.org.uk) commented: ''Graduated speeding penalties are an absurd attempt to paper over the cracks of a failed and dangerous road safety policy. Cameras are making the roads of Britain more dangerous because they are focussing on the wrong target and have a huge range of dangerous side effects.''

Safe Speed wants to know what happened to the consultation process that the Government launched last year to discuss graduated speeding penalties. It seems highly bizarre that this bill should be discussed in Parliament before the results of the consultation are published.

Paul concludes: ''Road safety policy in the UK used to be the best in the world and was guided by a golden combination of excellent science and best practice. At present we seem to have lost both influences and road safety policy is being guided by false assumptions and ignorance. No wonder we''re fast losing our road safety world lead.''

www.safespeed.org.uk

More News
  For January 2005
  From Safe Speed
  For Safety
  Biker247.com Home Page