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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

do people not understand that breaking the speed limit is breaking the law

95 replies

allsquareknickersnofurcoat · 07/02/2011 00:09

Why do so many drivers (NOT ALL! :)) think that they do not have to follow the law?

If you have gotten a fine for speeding, dont say you didnt know the camera was there, its irrelevant. It wouldnt have caught you if you werent breaking the law. The law may be stupid sometimes, but that doesnt mean you can pick and choose which bits are okay to ignore and then moan when you get caught!

Plus, people parking somewhere they shouldnt and complaining when they get a ticket! Its the law, you are aware of it, and you chose to break it.

It would never be okay for a shoplifter to moan about being caught on CCTV. You cant do what you want just cause you think you'll get away with it! And if you do, you should definitely not complain about it

Rant over :)

OP posts:
Original poster
allsquareknickersnofurcoat · 07/02/2011 13:34

Oo, thats one I missed - talking on mobile phones

I'm not saying the law is right or wrong, that again is irrelevant. I do agree that factors other than speed are involved in accidents, ie drink drivers are more likely to speed, and therefore their reactions are impaired anyway.

That isnt my AIBU though, my point is, everyone knows this is the law, why moan if they are caught breaking it!

I work with a lady who texts and FBs on her phone while doing 90mph on the motorway. I have been in her car [eek!] The outside world cannot see she is on her phone, but they can see she is speeding. Again, "that same bloody camera got me again". Caught breaking the law, twice, in the same place, yet its the cameras fault!!!

OP posts:
mousymouse · 07/02/2011 13:41

I am with you square, it is actually quite nice going within the speed limit and much less stressfull.

ccpccp · 07/02/2011 13:46

What I want fiveisanawfullybignumber, is a return to the days where there isnt a speed camera in every whingers back yard just because they petition for one.

Cameras have their place at accident blackspots but many of them are sited where the most revenue can be made or to shut up some local anti-car campaigner.

Keep the cameras where there is solid evidence that they have reduced accidents, and bin the rest as they are just cash machines that pander to the anti-car lobby.

Original poster
allsquareknickersnofurcoat · 07/02/2011 13:56

Methinks ccp is one of the people in my title... Wink

A speed camera can only catch you if you are speeding. Speeding is breaking the law. If a speed camera catches you, it is because you are breaking the law.

If you murder someone and DNA evidence is found, you cant complain that there shouldnt be DNA evidence used. You broke the law.

Personally, I dont think fining is enough of a deterrent. If you break any driving law, you need your licence evoked. No money made that way. And dont go accusing me of being antidriving either, I think cars are great :)

OP posts:
ashamedandconfused · 07/02/2011 13:57

I can not believe someone just said speed does not kill, what a stupid comment

of course it does. your reaction times are proportionate to speed, a difference of 5-10mph makes the difference between, for example, a pedestrian being killed outright and just broken bones (have you not seen the ads?) - and your chances of surviving a motorway accident are better if the vehicles in question are not going as fast

considerate drivers, concentrating on the road is one thing, and commendable - but it does not help their reaction times/breaking distances

and to asnswer teh Op - some people are so arrogant and self centred, they think "it'll never happen to me" and don't THINK about the dangers to other people AT ALL

StayingDavidTennantsGirl · 07/02/2011 14:01

Speed does kill - the faster you are driving, the quicker your reaction times have to be if there is a potential problem. Also, the faster you are going, the more damage you will do if you hit a pedestrian or another car, or anything else, for that matter.

If you are doing over 40mph and a pedestrian steps out in front of you, you will a) have to react far faster to brake or swerve, and b) if you do hit them, you will probably kill them. If you are doing 30mph or under, you will have longer to react to the pedestrian, and will be far less likely to kill them if you do hit them.

ashamedandconfused · 07/02/2011 14:03

ccpccp - what tosh - cameras are not just put willy nilly where people moan! Imagine being one of those "moaners" living in fear day in day out because of the mindless morons who speed past your drive so you cant even get in and out safely, or being woken by yet another CRASH during the night

stats show that where cameras have already been removed, more people are now being caught speeding - the cameras acted as a deterent (i think the news report was oxfordshire?)

Rhian82 · 07/02/2011 14:10

I completely agree, it drives me mad. It's not even an irrelevant bit of law-breaking - it's breaking the law in a way that might injure or kill people! If you don't want to get caught, just don't speed, it's that easy!

(and I also think that any driver that doesn't stop at a zebra crossing - and there are millions of them - should have to resit their theory and practical tests, as they obviously don't know their highway code and therefore should not be on the roads)

StayingDavidTennantsGirl · 07/02/2011 14:15

In the past I have posted (on another website) that there is a very easy and legal way to defeat the 'Evil Speed Cameras' - and that is not to speed! It is, if you like, a campaign of Civil Obedience!

xstitch · 07/02/2011 14:32

Exactly SDTG also imo speeding is bad driving.

notmyproblem · 07/02/2011 14:55

It's the Top Gear mentality. Those shows and most of the car adverts promise some idyllic open road experience, no other traffic, no speed limits, wind in your hair, living life like you should.

The reality is crowded narrow roads with cars parked on both sides, reasonable speed limits (20mph is more than reasonable on some narrow village high streets), and tons of other drivers who are all frustrated that this wonderful driving experience they're somehow owed rather than privileged to have is being ruined by all the other cars. Hmm

So no wonder drivers get angry and speed through villages and run red lights.. they are perpetually frustrated that their ideal is miles away from their reality. Hit 'em hard with fines I say. There are way too many idiot drivers out there and way too many deaths caused by them.

fiveisanawfullybignumber · 07/02/2011 15:00

ccpccp what a load of crap! Speed cameras slow people down, if some old moaner in a village is protesting for one, it's probably because idiots like you- are driving too fast.
Wish we had one on the entry road into our village!

GabbyLoggon · 07/02/2011 15:03

ALL SQUARE I sympathise with what you say
about speeding..

America is said to really enforce its speeding regs. And the Germans are said
to be lax. (Up to a point.)

I can understand the drivers temptation with an empty road in front of them

Problem is 3,000 people are killed on our roads every year. cheers

GrimmaTheNome · 07/02/2011 15:08

If you drive too fast past a sodding great big yellow box on a pole, you're probably driving without undue care and attention TBH.

ghosteditor · 07/02/2011 15:23

I almost didn't click on the link because this makes me so Angry ! All these people who think that it's ok to pick and choose which laws they abide by. Just because it doens't suit you to drive slowly doesn't mean that you have the right to break the law. It's not hard to abide by the speed limit!!

I've been run off the road by a drunk driver on a motorway, which resulted in a friend having a fractured spine, so yes, I'm a bit sensitive about driving, but it's exactly the same logic that dictates that the rules don't apply if they are inconvenient and that the driver is somehow above it all, and above risk.

Driving is genuinely the most dangerous thing that the average UK citizen does with his/her life and it has the most potential to cause harm to others. Why, why would you add illegal speed - which does increase risk - to the mix?

grimma you're so right!

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 07/02/2011 15:35

ShinyMoon.. I used to say the same thing, that speed DOES kill... but it really doesn't.

People drink and drive, take drugs (prescription and non-prescription), fiddle with radios, apply lippy, read maps, etc. All of that is driving without due care and attention and even at the speed limit you can kill somebody quite easily.

If you are concentrating, even at speed, you'll read the road ahead of you and will be alert to changing conditions, slowing down as necessary.

I think the speed limits are too low on motorways and too high on country lanes where visibility is so poor.

I don't know if anyone else feels the same but driving at 50mph (in parts) on a motorway is so monotonous and I don't see a need for it to be that low.

GrimmaTheNome · 07/02/2011 15:39

The biggest flaw in that argument is that a lot of people who are speeding aren't concentrating.

Quite a lot will be speeding because their inattention is such they've failed to notice a speed limit sign.

Its not an either/or. Obey the limit and concentrate.

choccyp1g · 07/02/2011 15:43

If you are concentrating, even at speed, you'll read the road ahead of you and will be alert to changing conditions, slowing down as necessary.
So along my road (bendy. cars parked, children, dogs, etc) you'll go at about 25mph then? Despite it being a 30mph limit? No, I thought not. You'll be doing 40+ just like all the other fools.

ghosteditor · 07/02/2011 15:48

I disagree. I do drive at 20-25 on my residential street and roads nearby because there are lots of adjoining roads, kids, and a nearby school, even though the speed limit is technically 40 mph. The difference in journey times between, say 25mph and 30 mph over 300 metres of road is tiny.

And we have nearby stretches of 50 mph dual carriageway which just beg to be driven at 70mph but I don't do it, because unlike some people I actually respect the law and don't think we have a right to pick and choose which laws we want to obey.

ghosteditor · 07/02/2011 15:49

*correction, the speed limit nearby is techincally 30 mph.

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 07/02/2011 15:49

Grimma... if they're not concentrating then at any speed it's likely that somebody will be killed at some point.

choccy... one place I never speed is where the limit is 30mph. I probably didn't make it clear. I'll drive at 30mph unless your child, dog, whatever is in the road. Don't make assumptions when you don't know.

FluffyMummy123 · 07/02/2011 15:50

I think it's odd that sentencing for speeding isi really lenient.

For eg. You can speed 4 times and only at 12 pts be banned for 6 months.

You drink drive once a tiny bit over the. Limit, prob dont even cause any problems (not saying. It's ok bunt in comparison) and you are banned for a year,,

Even of you speed and cause a minor collision you won't automatically be banned.

Illogical

ShinyMoonInAPurpleSky · 07/02/2011 15:53

Even if you are the most careful driver there is and concentrate 100%, if you are doing stupid speeds on the wrong road and someone else makes a mistake or does something you are not expecting, what if your speed is the deciding factor that turns an accident into a tragedy? Yes the other person would have made the initial mistake but you would have made the outcome far worse.

Dor instance, my friend ran across the road without looking. If the driver of the car had been doing the speed limit (and the limit had been lower in the first place of course) maybe he would still be alive?

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 07/02/2011 15:53

See now I can't understand why people drink and drive, not even a little bit. In some countries the limit is zero and I think it should be here also.

There we are... it's not ok to speed and it's not ok to drink and drive and it's not ok to do anything else that's against the law.

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 07/02/2011 15:58

Shiny... I don't do 'stupid speeds'. I'm not a joy rider and the places where I do exceed the speed limit sometimes are motorways. Nobody is going to be running across the road (I've never seen them do it anyway) and I do a lot of mileage.

There are some roads with a SL of 30 where I pootle along at 10-15 because I know that there's a great possibility of a child or animal running out into the road. I don't want to hit them.

Anybody can make mistakes - a colleague of mine managed to kill somebody at low speed. He was driving along and his bottle of milk rolled off the seat and started to spill... he took his eyes off the road for a few seconds and hit somebody. He wasn't speeding but obviously wasn't concentrating. I can well understand how you feel because of your friend. :(