More speed traps ...

There ar lots of 'speed traps' - traps that we set for ourselves by skewing our attitudes towards the way we drive. There are undoubtedly more than I will ever think of myself, excuses, delusions and fantasies ...

Here are just a few more ...

The 'It's a clear road' trap

Changes to road design in towns, on major routes and motorways have helped reduce the casualty rate, however, other roads have not seen the same level of accident reduction. 

Have you ever seen a horse or a cow that has been hit by a car? Or the resultant wreckage that the driver is cut out from?

There is nothing wrong with driving fast on a truly clear road, but such roads are rarely found in the UK (perhaps if you lived in Montana!).

Empty motorways can have debris on the road surface from burst truck tyres, etc. Not much of a problem at 70 mph, but dangerous at 100. Country roads are rarely clear, stray animals, mud, farm vehicles, damaged surfaces, water, ice ...

Many drivers (and their passengers) are killed in single car accidents on clear roads. By all means drive fast if that is what you want to do - but do it in an intelligent way. Any moron can end up in a field!

The 'I never drive fast in town' trap

What is fast? Five miles per hour can kill. This brings us back to the 'Speed Kills' trap.

Many towns now have 20 mph zones. You obviously don't want to run over a child, but at 20 mph there is a good chance that he will survive if you do (and more chance that you will avoid him!). At 35 mph he will probably die.

It's 30 for a reason ... Click here

Town and city journeys are often short. An extra 10 mph will make virtually no difference to your journey time, although you might get to the next red light a bit quicker!

The 'The speed limits are too low' trap

This might be a good point - I've often driven on roads that seem to be OK for 50 or 60 mph but which are restricted to 30 mph.

BUT. Unless you know the history of a particular area, and are an expert in making sense of such data, how do you know the limit is too low. Where is your evidence? Being a good driver doesn't make you psychic - the road cloud be a major accident black spot.

If you are local and you know a limit is unreasonable - gather some data, form a pressure group and fight to get it changed. There have been cases where the accident rate has been cut when a higher limit has been imposed.

Is there a perfect solution? Click the forward arrow to find out ...