basingwerk wrote:
Translated into road safety language, it is best to stick to the highway code yourself, but expect others not to. This means that good drivers should stay within the speed limit, because that is part of the highway code protocol. They should not always expect other drivers to stick to the protocol, and should drive defensively, following the maxim ? hope for the best, but expect the worst.
"Hope for the best, but expect the worst" is very sound advice to drivers.
But to single out sped limit rules from the Highway Code is somewhat bizarre. The speed limit rules in the Highway Code are unlike (almost?) all of the other rules for the following reasons:
1) They are really a proxy for a different desired behaviour. The desired behaviour is that "people should not drive too fast". But the speed limit is a just a very poor proxy measure of the desired behaviour.
2) Few rules in the Highway Code are arbitrary lines - you either break the rule or you don't - it's not a question of degree. Yes I know you either break the speed limit or you don't - but even having broken it, few would think the behaviour dangerous or worthy of prosecution if you only broke it by (say) 0.01mph.
3) Just because it is in the Highway Code does not necessarily make it best practice. I can think of quite a few items of Highway Code advice that almost all responsible drivers ignore regularly. Headlamp flashing is an example.
There's more - but I'm late and I have to go out.