Colin McKenzie wrote:
Would anyone care to argue that motoring offences are at an acceptably
low level? Enforcement of speed and red lights is still treated as a
game, with a slap on the wrist if you are dozy enough not to spot a
bright yellow camera. Elsewhere, 90% of drivers treat speed limits as
advisory.

The speed argument is silly though. It's been turned into a major issue
because there's technology on the cheap to enforce it; in fact, there's
cheap technology that makes it profitable to enforce it. It fails to
recognise that speed is a minor cause of accidents, even if it /can/
have a more serious effect when one happens. It fails to catch those
who are not qualified to drive, drunk, under the influence of drugs, on
their phone, not up to standard etc. Real police enforce these things,
but are rapidly disappearing in favour of cameras on the one hand, and
CSOs on the other.

I've just driven from England to Sweden, via France, Belgium, Holland,
Germany and Denmark. Most countries now have a speed limit of 130kph,
with Germany having their infamous autobahns that carry 1/3rd of all
traffic, yet have just 6% of all accidents. Most roads are just two
lanes, yet it's quite easy to do 120-130kph or even a GPS-verified
202kph (in a diesel Mondeo!) on the open stretches. It's totally legal,
and amazingly the only complaints in Germany are down to the
environmental cost, not the brainwashed message we have that 'speed
kills'. If I did 125mph in the UK, I'd be considered to be on the same
level as Saddam Hussein. Do it in Germany, and the most hassle I'll get
is having to pull in to allow a Porsche through wanting to do 300kph!

Even Sweden with 'vision zero' is experimenting with an increased limit
to 130kph from 110kph! I saw one potential road rage incident in
Germany, but otherwise motorists are far more tolerant than a British
motorist will ever be.

The problem in the UK is the quality of driving which seems to be
terrible and getting worse (even though new drivers have a far more
thorough test than we ever did). Speeding can be enforced easily, but
the policy in the last 10 years of reducing many limits from 70 to 50
(supplemented by cameras) isn't working. Fatalities have remained
almost constant (give or take 100 here and there) suggesting speed
cameras aren't working either. In fact, it seems to prove only how many
people must be speeding and on the fact that most people speeding
aren't killing anyone!

Jonathan