Jayne Dowle: Political meddling is highway to motoring hell

It means I will be able to go faster, but if I go faster and stay in the middle lane, I will be in trouble and £100 out of pocket.

New rules coming in July will give police officers the power to stop and fine drivers they deem to be “hogging” that middle lane, as well as those caught tailgating, dithering at junctions and quite possibly, picking their nose in stationary traffic.

I was joking about the last one, but while some of the proposals make sense, others seem arbitrary and sound almost impossible to enforce.

Like all sensible drivers, I want to know the rules – for my safety and that of others. I also accept that driving practices have to evolve to reflect modern roads and vehicles. If they didn’t, we would still have a man with a flag walking in front of us, and we’d be doing hand signals out of the window.

I have to ask though: do government ministers ever actually drive? If the string of random announcements that pass for motoring policy these days are anything to go by, it’s a long time since some of them got behind the wheel.

It seems to me that ministers are rather guilty of making it up as they go along. No wonder drivers are confused and in danger of making mistakes unwittingly. You might think that a dangerous activity which the vast majority of the adult population takes part in every day would be better organised.

I’m just an ordinary motorist though. What do I know is that the real idiots behind the wheel – the ones who career along the outside lane at 100mph, the left-hand drive lorry drivers who can’t see or don’t care who’s on their right, and the boy-racers who speed up rather than slow down when they see a lollipop lady – are likely to get off scot-free. Again. What about those who drive without insurance? I’ve seen some pretty selfish behaviour on the roads, but nothing is as selfish as this.

No insurance can be cataclysmic, not only for a driver in an accident, but for their passengers and anyone else involved. And the growing numbers of those without cover put up premiums for everyone else. The new plan to increase the fine from £200 to £300 does not go far enough. I’d ban uninsured drivers from getting behind the wheel on the grounds of being a menace to themselves and others.

Meanwhile, I get a sneaky feeling that it’s the beleaguered motorist trying to stick to the rules who will end up – yet again – as a cash-cow for the Treasury.

We are already under enough pressure, loaded down with ever higher motoring costs; petrol, road tax, insurance, repair bills.

We have to pay to use certain roads, and to park in towns and cities where cash-strapped local councils increase charges without any of us having a say. The last thing we want is the prospect of more fines.

This is just a guess, but I suspect that since more of us have learnt to stick to the speed limits, revenue from speeding tickets has dropped. Other ways must be found to make us pay. What is also galling is that the motoring organisations, such as the AA and the RAC, always agree with ministers in the name of “road safety” and forget that their paying members might think differently.

Surely, it would be better for all those experts to come up with a brand new code of conduct, rather than stagger on with this piecemeal approach? We need rules, of course, and no driver should consider themselves above the law.

However, we also need motorists who are capable of making their own judgements. Even Edmund King, the president of the AA, says that while 80mph in a good car is safe in good weather, a driver should always take the decision to adjust their speed to road conditions.

The problem with draconian measures is that drivers lose all confidence in their own ability to make such adjustments. It’s like the growing reliance on sat-nav. Some younger drivers never even look at road signs, and if the talking map on the dashboard breaks down, they’re literally lost.

A thorough review of all aspects of legislation would be a good idea, followed by a hard-hitting media strategy to educate us all. It should take as its example the current anti-drink driving campaign, which leaves no doubt about the financial consequences of losing your licence for being over the limit.

Finally, I’d make practice on a motorway compulsory for learners so they understood the fullest picture of driving from the off. I’d stop making motoring policy up as I went along, because safe driving is not just about the destination. It’s about taking a logical and well-signposted journey along the way.