Safe Speed Forums

If lowering speed limits was about safety, then why are the true road safety experts, the police, so often ignored?

_________________
My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

Probably for the same reason that Government drugs safety advisers are sacked. They give the "wrong" advice. "Wrong" being anything which conflicts with the politician's opinion.

_________________
Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

Are they?
Police forces have a clear route to influencing speed limits and note is taken based on merit as is the input from any other agency involved.

Over the years I have seen plenty of reports of the police opposing - whether formally or informally - speed limit reductions proposed by local councils. In Oxfordshire they lodged a number of formal objections.

Presumably the new lower limits on such roads don't tend to be enforced very much...

_________________
"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

In other words, they are ignored as in the case of warwickshire and Norwich.

_________________
My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

Thanks for the patronising tone there, I need'nt ask myself if that question makes sense I know the answer already as my parents are both councilors in the next village hence me knowing the reason for the imposed restriction. As for contacting the council itself, as you already pointed out there's no point. With regards to attitudes in driving and the accident black spot, the black spot has'nt been looked at, it is on a bend and part of the same stretch of dual carriage way but has no speed restriction just the national limit of 70mph. Does the reason for the limit being dropped to 50mph next to the councillors home make sense now? Although I agree that you will never change everyones attitude toward driving and that the accidents could have been down to speeding why not tackle the hazardous part of the road? MONEY AND FIGURES??Part of the reason the public lose respect for the police.

In another unrelated matter regarding the fuzz, I was driving up the A1 on Sunday and saw a police car join the motorway about 400 yards infront of me with his lights on and foot down , whom I thought was chasing someone. As I was driving past the same slip road another police car did the same undertaking me to which I looked and sarcasticaly said to my wife look they're off to macc'y dees, funnily enough a mile up the road there's the same 2 cars parked up chatting to each other.

Nah I'm not bitter I'll take my medicine, 17 year point free I've had a good run count myself lucky when you consider the under handed way they attack everyones licence. From now on though 30mph in a 30mph etc........

[quote="
. Slowing them down somewhat is a crude but never the less practical measure.[/quote]


Yep -lot's cheaper than having a proper roads POLICING unit staffed with people QUALIFIED to guage road safety . Unfortunately in this day and age the bean counters and the spin merchants hold sway ,and apart from that -the "Road safety Pratnerships " (full of well meaning staff) keep the unemployed totals down ( as well as generating some more nice income for HMG).
In the days when trafpols were a plenty ,you didn't get queues held up behind some slow car -or if you did ,the snail was pulled -the hazard was removed -they didn't wait 14 days to tell someone they'd bent the law.

_________________
lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

mrdangermouse

So what is the reason ?
For all sign knowledge see Here ...
and this found Here and if downloadable as a pdf file.
Roads have to be signed properly as this states for enforcement of road traffic law. Sign have to be placed according to specific rule and regulations ad are to be maintained by the local Council, any incorrections of those signs that do not comply with those regulations may see a NIP etc squashed BUT I am not a lawyer and cannot advise you., this is my opinion only. Seek proper legal advice to be clear.
Our sponsor Monson Solicitors (http://www.marymonson.co.uk/motoring-law.htm and http://www.pepipoo.com) or forum group Pepipoo are good places ...
I haven't the time right now to look into this but the answer will be within that website.


errr why ? You can ask them for verification that the road has all it's paperwork in order for the speed limit that was set and that it is being currently proposed/applied. If that paperwork is not all in order then the new limit may not apply.


I really am up to my eyes with paperwork at the minute but many things in what you say here need to be looked at just a s quick starter,
The road needs to be looked at by a road engineer, ask the Council officially when and what outcome. If it is a road 'black spot', then making traffic concentrate on a camera, does nothing to help road users to understand how to recognise a potential hazard, nor what to do about it in the best possible way. So nothing is taught but the many negative side effects that cameras will play, and ensure that drivers are very busy checking their speedo's and the cameras, not on the road layout, nor any road hazards or dangers, hardly a good thing then, when there is a black spot. Engineering out the dangers would be better - putting up an Accident Blackspot sign helps too !
Agreed concentrate on teh wrong thing and along with not teaching how to be a better driver / rider, the rift between the Police and the public is very low.

They might have had an incident and then the need had subsided, it would be wrong to assume that you know all the real facts from the little that you saw. It might have been 'wrong', but we cannot know this. - Agreed, this in itself helps to show the serious loss of trust ad respect, that has been so severely lost. Another negative side effect of speed cameras.

Hence why we must ensure that roads return to their Safest in the World status and why we are fighting so hard to have cameras removed for good.

_________________
Safe Speed for Intelligent Road Safety through proper research, experience & guidance.