Just to resurrect this for a moment, I had the following snippet come through from the Institute of Advanced Motorists today.
I'm glad to see that the IAM have stated their stance that they are, and have always been, in favour of the safe use of speed but it's a bit worrying to learn that this woman has been successful in regaining her licence.
IAM wrote:
You will recall the recent story of the poor lady from Bristol who was fined for doing 10mph on the M32. She reportedly suffered from a clinical fear of driving as well as MS, and claimed she had joined the M32 by accident.
It would be unfair to harp on about this particular case, but it does remind us of the need for every driver to make good progress at all times, subject to the driving conditions and speed limits encountered. Sadly, many drivers now seem to drive well within the prescribed limits and overtaking seems to be a dying art. The reasons are not hard to find.
Speed cameras have made everybody err on the safe side – better to be under the prescribed limit than over. However, most car speedometers over-read by anything up to 10%, so somebody doing an indicated 37mph in a 40 limit to ensure they are definitely not placing their licence in peril, could actually be doing as little as 34 mph and needlessly holding the flow of traffic as a result.
As for overtaking, it seems some drivers simply won’t do it on single carriageway roads any more – presumably for fear of momentarily exceeding the speed limit and getting caught in the act. As a result, we see an increasing number of queues tailing back behind slow moving vehicles such as tractors and heavily laden good vehicles.
The IAM has always supported the safe and legal use of speed and will continue to do so.
The case of the lady from Bristol has a happy ending! IAM staff examiner Andy Poulton spent some time with her after she regained her licence, in order to boost her confidence behind the wheel.
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