Police tsar sorry for speeding ‘nonsense’

Stephen Bett, PCC for Norfolk, had been criticised by motoring groups after making the comments during a radio interview.

Yesterday he issued a statement apologising for his “tongue-in-cheek” comments, saying his serious message about the confusion created by too many road signs had been lost.

During the interview on BBC Norfolk last week, Mr Bett said he would like to see speed limits on motorways and other major roads abolished.

“We ought to drive to road conditions rather than set limits,” he said.

“The problem is that there are so many signs drivers get mesmerised by them.”

Asked how fast people should be allowed to drive, Mr Bett replied: “It depends on the driver – if you’ve got a Formula One racing driver, well, you can go flat out.

“If he was a racing driver and really, really good and had tremendous reflexes, probably as fast as the car will go.”

In a statement Mr Bett said that with hindsight his message about the clutter associated with road signs had been lost in his 
“flippant” comments about speeding.

He added: “I fully acknowledge that speed is regarded as a contributory factor in determining the outcome of collisions.

“My comments were not meant to be offensive.”

After the interview, a spokesman for the Guild of Experienced Motorists described Mr Bett’s comments as “nonsense”.