Two things I've sene recently made me wonder at what point people are willing to accept personal responsibility for the way they are driving.
Last night's Scottish news carried reports on accidents on the A9, M9 and M8. The report began by saying that the accidents had been 'caused' by black ice. There was a tiny little tag-on to the end of the opening salvo that police had asked that people 'drive to the conditions' and that there had been warnings that there would be black ice. The police chap interviewed was great and pointed out that drivers seemed to think that, despite the warnings, drivers were seeing black tarmac and thinking it was safe - ignoring warnings about ice which, being black, they couldn't necessarily see. Then the report went back to 'treachourous' conditions being the cause.
And I was reading a website for a bit of research called PePiPoo (no idea where they got the name) which is for motorists to 'fight back' (presumably in that war on the motorist). There's a forum attached, naturally, with lots of people saying they've been done for this, that and the next thing and how they could 'get off' (while also protesting their utter innocence). One young guy had had a red light camera flash him. He'd been driving in the snow, only doing 15mph as he knew the 'conditions were dangerous', lights changed, he tried to 'feather the brakes' and skidded over the line. He declared that could he plead innocence because he was 'driving to the conditions'. Erm. Am I being too pedantic here in thinking that if you can't stop in time then maybe you weren't actually driving to the conditions?
(someone on the forum pointed out that red light cameras are actually also speed activated (got to be travelling above 12mph to set them off, so it's doesn't flash those who juuuuust pop over the line very slowly), but he was shouted down with claims that someone knew someone who had been flashed travelling at 'ZERO' mph - how that's possible, to go over a line at 0mph, I don't know, but does anyone know if the speed activation thing is correct?).
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