I just had to do the Drivers Awareness Course.. ahem instead of taking 3 points for being very slightly over the limit in a 30 zone.
They told us not to retaliate, and just to stick to what we are doing, cos idiots like her can distract us enough to hit someone in a 30 zone.
I was never a speed freak before this, car is an auto and it's hard to drive that slowly. Hard, but not impossible. I know, I've been really working hard ever since the notification came through my door. Now I do absolutely rigidly stick to it.
They played the Hit me at 40 advert, and broke it down bit by bit. I swear, I was welling up, fighting back the tears.
If we are doing 40 in a 30 and a child runs out in front of us, some 75 feet ahead, we slam on the brakes. When we reach the point we would have stopped if we were doing 30, we're still travelling at 29mph.
This is the equivalent of a driver going at 30mph, sees a child run out and only lifts their foot of the gas pedal...
The ExPolice Officer said that no accident where the impact was 25mph resulted in the victim actually surviving being hit.
If you know this woman and where she lives, and feel brave enough to do so, by all means tell her that her driving is dangerous. If she'd have hit and (most definately) killed someone that day, she'd be looking at a minimum of 2yrs inside and a lifetime of guilt.
Sorry for the rant/soap box, but it did move me to tears and I for one will never ever speed in a built up area again.