Lack of speed limit enforcement on roads will cost lives – Neil McNicholas

I’M 73 years of age and have had a UK driving licence for over 55 years. I’ve also held three other national licences – Zambian, American and Saudi Arabian – having had to take a driving test in each case.
Why do so few motorists observe the speed limit? Neil McNicholas poses the question.Why do so few motorists observe the speed limit? Neil McNicholas poses the question.
Why do so few motorists observe the speed limit? Neil McNicholas poses the question.

I failed a test only once (in Zambia) for rolling backwards slightly on a supposed hill start, this in a part of the country that has no hills! I later discovered that they always failed Brits on their first test to make the point that, just six years after independence, they were now running the country. Fair enough.

There was a time when driving standards in the United Kingdom were very good, something that was confirmed for me every time I was home from those other countries.

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I always remember a Saudi colleague explaining that a measure of good driving in his country was surviving on the roads where so many drivers seemed to have a death wish.

How should speed limits be enforced more effectively?How should speed limits be enforced more effectively?
How should speed limits be enforced more effectively?

Sadly in recent years driving standards here in this country seem to be getting worse and worse. On a fairly regular basis, I drive a section of the A66 between Stockton and Middlesbrough which has a posted speed limit of 50mph.

Most of the time I feel as if I am the only driver observing that limit as car after car passes me doing 60-70mph, sometimes even more, and the majority seem to be German-manufactured. Maybe they come with an exemption clause, I don’t know.

What I do know is that the odds of ever seeing a police patrol car on that stretch of road are only slight higher than the odds of being struck by lightning, and maybe that’s why drivers know there is no risk in ignoring the speed limit.

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Firstly I keep asking myself the futile question: why can’t people do as they are told? Do these drivers simply not see the speed limit signs, or do they think they apply only to everyone else?

How should speed limits be enforced more effectively?How should speed limits be enforced more effectively?
How should speed limits be enforced more effectively?

Secondly it is a mystery to me why people are in such a rush – and apparently also in a rush to kill themselves or others. I find driving to be far more enjoyable and far less stressful if I drive at a steady speed which, for me, means just a notch or two below the speed limit.

You get to where you are going just the same and almost as quickly and your blood pressure will be where it should be unless other drivers have sent it skywards.

Then there are those drivers who don’t appear to know where the stalk is that operates their indicators. Signalling your intentions, whether it is turning, overtaking, or changing lanes, is such an essential part of driving and also of showing some consideration for other road users.

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When I first took my driving test, most cars didn’t have indicators and so you had to use hand-signals. Over the years things progressed from no signals, to semaphores, to varying designs of indicator lights. You no longer had to use hand signals but you had developed the habit and practice of indicating and so that’s what you did. These days so many drivers just don’t even bother.

I don’t know whether they are afraid their bulbs might burn out and then they’d have to go to the trouble of replacing them, or whether they are just so self-centred that they don’t care whether or not they signal their intentions to others.

It’s bad enough when drivers change lanes or overtake with no prior warning of their intention, but what is annoying is when you pull up at a roundabout, for example, to let an approaching driver pass in front of you (and you presume that’s where they are going because they are not indicating any other intention) only to have them suddenly turn left and leave you sitting there like an idiot. Is it really too much to expect a little thoughtfulness and consideration for others?

In the news we continue to hear of people being arrested for drink-driving (and drug-driving) even though it has been an offence since 1967, and you can see for yourself people driving whilst using a mobile phone even though that has been illegal since 2003. There are even people who still refuse to wear a seat belt and that has been the law for the last 38 years.

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Much of all this comes down to personal discipline (sadly lacking these days), respect for the law (ditto), and respect and regard for other people (ditto again).

Unlike the driver these things don’t need a licence to be behind the wheel – but they are.

Father Neil McNicholas is a parish priest in Yarm.

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