@mmohara well, personally I think enforcing the 70 motorway limit is as much a waste of time and effort as stopping cyclists from turning left through a red light when its safe to do so. Why waste finite polis effort on extremely low risk behaviours?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure
Turn right on red - Paris
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Posted 9 years ago #
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"Why waste finite polis effort on extremely low risk behaviours?"
Now there's a bold statement...
It's complicated.
Of course the idea of "low risk behaviours" is open to debate (perhaps even 'facts').
"extremely low risk behaviours" more so!
I think there is a general 'feeling' on here that there is not enough enforcement. The 'public view' that there is a "war on motorists" doesn't seem to be particularly true. Though that tends to be aimed at politicians more than the police.
Clearly the police don't/can't have the resources to do "everything". People who get burgled expect to see a police car in minutes. But...
Clearly there are "priorities" - even 'consultation on priorities'. No surprise that most people don't put "enforcing ASL encroachment" on their wishlist.
But it's not just/really about stopping people breaking the law. It's partly about having 'sensible' laws, but more about getting people/politicians/police to see that some normal driving (and sometimes cycling) behaviour is actually dangerous - or at least potentially- to cyclists and pedestrians and is a real barrier to getting more people to walk and cycle.
Posted 9 years ago # -
The drivers that exceed 70 on the motorway are the same ones that are likely to
- have faulty headlights / tyres
- have no insurance / MOT
- jump reds
- speed in town
- use their mobile while driving
- break the law in some other way (with regard to motoring)You catch the minor offences, the major ones will follow.
Posted 9 years ago # -
The drivers that exceed 70 on the motorway are the same ones that are likely to
- have faulty headlights / tyres
- have no insurance / MOT
- jump reds
- speed in town
- use their mobile while driving
- break the law in some other way (with regard to motoring)You catch the minor offences, the major ones will follow.
I'm not sure that's all true, primarily because going above 70mph on a motorway is so acceptable to wider society that it is normalised. [Most over-70ers would, I am sure, be in full agreement that having no insurance / MOT is wrong and that folk should be done for that.]
However, the problem it gives us is that it normalises the idea that speed limits are kinda advisory, so it's "okay" to do 35 in a 30, and maybe 48 in a 40.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Sorry eddie_h but that is simply not true. For a start, many of those I see guilty of RLJing, urban speeding, mobile usage & worse are in company vehicles with a speed limiter of 60mph or below. And many of those speeding on motorways are in expensive newish vehicles whose tyres & headlights are most likely sound (too sound for many judging by the lighting thread), which don't yet need an MOT, and I'm pretty sure they have no problem insuring said vehicle.
I can't think of a course of action by traffic police less likely to stop cyclist & pedestrian KSIs than pursuing motorway speeders. A-roads, maybe. Urban enforcement, definitely.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Or put another way, if a driver sees the 70mph law as a law they can 'pick & choose' to ignore, then what other laws will they pick and choose to ignore?
Or are the "over 70mph-ers" all driving "Gods" in every other respect?
Posted 9 years ago # -
I still think you are barking up the wrong tree. Case in point - have average speed cameras on the A9 (which I welcome) made urban cycling in Perth, Inverness or anywhere inbetween safer? I doubt it.
Surely better for policing and education to focus on where law-breaking actually does demonstrably affect vulnerable groups? There have been past successes eg drink-driving, seatbelt wearing.
Posted 9 years ago #
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