Just been watching the above show online on ITV. The episode focuses on speeding drivers (
http://www.itv.com/CatchUp/Video/defaul ... lter=15721) and is full of things to make you scream at the monitor.
1 in 3 of all road deaths are related to speeding...not surprising considering speeding leads to other offences like tailgating.
Hang on...it doesn't follow that if you speed, you tailgate. And vice-versa. I've been tailgated by drivers on or below the speed limit, which was dangerous but not "speeding".
The old 1mph reduction means 5% reduction in crashes one comes out again, too. I still don't quite understand that one...or believe it.
"Some drivers still believe there's a difference between speeding and safe speeding." Surely there
is? i.e. travelling 80mph on a clear, clean and dry motorway is safe, certainly safer than 60mph on a wet, busy and windy day on the same stretch.
Some of the examples shown see drivers "dangerously overtaking" on straight stretches of road, in what seem to be dry conditions.
Do the people making these shows actually believe the lies they spout? I'm not saying that speeding through towns is acceptable or that some of the driving shown isn't discraseful, but what I am saying is that the majority of the incidents were down to poor driving (the driver that screeched over the hashed lines to exit the m/way) and not just "speed". This fact seems to be happily ignored, however, and no effort is made to address the real issues. The message seems to be "slow down, and you'll be safer". COAST never gets a look in.
I had an incident today which I feel could have put me on the above show as part of the "maniac driver" collection:
Travelling on a relatively clear A-road, a car was waiting at a junction on my right. As I approached at around 55/60 it pulled out as I was approx 100 yards away. It either hadn't seen me or didn't care! Faced with 2 options - slam on and risk being rear-ended by the car behind, or accellerate around the car (the road ahead was straight and clear) I chose the latter. This took me above the speed limit but I was safely around the vehicle and on my way. I can imagine the commentary now, though "this driver doesn't slow down when others get in his way, instead choosing to speed around obstacles in the face of on-coming traffic". Even if there wasn't any on-coming traffic.
Grrr!