Slower Derbyshire

Speeding: A victimless crime?

Imagine a train crash every week where 70 people were killed and 700 seriously injured. Imagine a plane crash every month where 300 people were killed and 3000 seriously injured. The general public would be outraged and the government would be demanding answers. Unfortunately one doesn't have to imagine as that is the carnage on our roads! Every day on average 10 people dead, 100 seriously injured and 1000 slightly injured¹. In 1 in 3 of these accidents speed is the major factor! This means that more people are killed by speed on our roads than are murdered in this country.

The carnage on our roads leaves peoples' lives tragically blighted. To a lesser degree it also has a very serious economic impact. It is estimated that the total cost to the country of this carnage is £18 billion² per annum. NHS resources are unneccessarily wasted in dealing with accidents that should not be occurring. It is estimated that the NHS spends £1.1 billion per annum dealing with the effects of road accidents – 1.7% of its budget³. I fail to see how the media can perpetuate the myth that "speeding is a victimless crime".

It seems that this death rate is politically acceptable. Both the government and opposition appear to adopt the populist stance of wanting to protect the "right" of drivers to speed! This is why the police are prevented from enforcing speed limits to the maximum of their ability. This is despite the fact that when the police were able to enforce the speed limits in the pilot Safety Camera Partnerships, with fewer draconian restrictions than at present, there was a 35% decrease in deaths and injuries in the areas where speed cameras were deployed⁴.

It is a great pity that the government is failing to live up to its Road Safety Strategy outlined by Tony Blair in March 2000⁵:

• Much has been said about speeds and speed limits. Research shows us that speed, more than anything else, is what is killing people. So controlling speed is at the heart of our strategy.

• Speed can make the difference between life and death.

• Speed limits are there for a specific purpose.

One would have hoped that the government (and opposition) would expect drivers to universally obey the speed limits – not just in the locality of highly visible speed cameras. There are only two ways that the speed limits could universally be enforced:

• If drivers believe that they can be caught anywhere (i.e. hidden speed cameras or some form of tracking).

• If speed limits were automatically enforced by the vehicles themselves.

The government is illegally preventing the police from enforcing the speed limits to the maximum of their ability in the following ways:

• I suspect the Home Secretary/Transport Minister of acting ultra vires. I was under the impression that Parliament provided laws, the police enforced them and the judiciary interpreted them. It seems that in the case of speeding the law is enforced where ministerial dictat permits. I believe the reluctance to allow the police to enforce the speed limit to the maximum of their ability is politically motivated – i.e. it's not a great vote winner.

• It is extremely unfair that hidden cameras can be used to prevent shoplifting, tax disc evasion and burglary but not speeding! It seems that hidden cameras may be used where property or money is involved but not human lives?

• The Safety Camera Partnership guidelines are illegal because they contravene the primary article of the Human Rights Act: "You have the absolute right to have your life protected by law.". Currently speed cameras may only be used in locations where somebody has already died ("accident blackspot"). This leaves chief constables liable to death related lawsuits. They have the speed cameras but are not permitted to use them universally!

It would be nice if the Home Secretary/Transport Minister could explain how the Safety Camera Partnerships are expected to prevent drivers routinely driving at 40/50 mph in a 30mph zone or driving at 50/60 mph in a 40 mph zone. This routine speeding is to be observed on such roads every day. Every time I drive I am either tailgated or overtaken by drivers that believe the speed limit does not apply them. It seems that a significant proportion of drivers appear to believe the road is for their exclusive use. The words that aptly describe the cars of such drivers are "hurtle/hurtling". Such indifference probably explains the road rage that pedestrians, cyclists and lollipop ladies/men suffer on a daily basis.

Speed enforcement in this country would be laughable were it no so lethal. The government should immediately take the following actions to rectify the situation:

• Permit the police to enforce the speed limits to the maximum of their ability. This must include the use of covert speed cameras to deter excessive speeding. The police should consult with local people as to the location of cameras. Local people should also be provided with hand held speed guns so that they can assist in speed enforcement should they wish to.

• Ring fence 100% of speed fines for local speed enforcement, road safety and traffic calming measures. This would then mean that the fines would become a "safety tax".

• All deaths and serious injuries to non-vehicular persons to be treated as "dangerous driving" unless it can be demonstrated it truly was "careless driving".

• Confiscate and destroy the cars of those found guilty of serious traffic offences.

• Introduce short term bans for excessive speeding – e.g. exceeding the speed limit by 50%. This is in line with the current one month minimum ban for exceeding 100mph.

• Give responsibility for issues related to road safety and speed enforcement to a politically neutral body such as ROSPA or HSE. This would allow decisions to be taken for the good of all and not be politically motivated.

• Encourage/force insurers to have a high personal excess for injuries to non-vehicular persons.

• Reduce the penalty for very minor speed infringements to a pecuniary fine (i.e. no points on licence) or a road safety course. This would help reduce some antagonism to universal speed cameras.

Speeding is a form of terroism! Ask any pedestrian, hiker, cyclist or horse rider. Unfortunately I can't imagine the government spending billions combatting the terroism on our roads. Stop the political rhetoric and save lives – now!

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