Speeding Should Be Tackled

For a long time now, drivers in the UK have been able to take advantage of a lenient approach to speeding by police forces. In 2021, 24 out of 45 police services confirmed that they had at least a 10% tolerance for speed cameras, usually plus 2 (Lancashire and the Metropolitan police work at plus 3). The argument for this has typically been that it stops drivers from keeping their eye on the speedometer, and keeps their focus on the road in front of them. But with most cars now being fitted with an optional speed limiter, and government plans to introduce mandatory speed limiters in vehicles, is a 10% tolerance justifiable any longer?

Under the 10% +2 rule (the most common rule for fixed speed cameras), a driver going in a 70mph zone would have to start going as fast as 79mph before even being in danger of getting a fine. This is also the average for areas covered by the much maligned average speed cameras, hated only because they are much more effective, and it is harder to flout the rules.

As a driver myself, I often see both good and bad drivers. But one of the more irritating things is when a driver comes right up behind you when you are simply following the speed limit, only to blast past at 10 or 20 mph above the limit. Most recently on the A12, I was at around 68mph, when a group of vehicles went by who were going at least 85. Yet no punishment in sight. Not so much for speed camera tolerance, but simply by lack of coverage.

Whenever you look up information on speed cameras, the top results are almost always "How do I avoid a fine", or "Where can I avoid speed cameras". It belies a clear belief in many drivers that speed limits are merely advisory, that they are above the law, and that keeping people safe with cameras is merely a nuisance to those who feel entitled to unleash themselves at over 100mph. (The highest caught by Essex police between 2018 and 2019 was 142mph in a 70, whilst one was caught going at 88mph in a 30).

With the input of speed limiters, there can no longer be any excuse for speeding in any sort of area. Scared of getting a speeding ticket on a motorway? Put your speed limiter to 70 before you set off, then you won't get one. I myself keep mine at 30, and turn it on with a button coming off of fast roads into small city roads, where you experience the sudden sluggishness of going from 70 for 20 minutes to 30.

But with this comes the need for speed cameras and police to take a full zero tolerance approach to speeding. With new technology, the old arguments of it being dangerous to keep to the limit are now redundant. It should be followed by a covering of areas not with fixed speed, but average speed cameras, forcing those who feel entitled to speed to pay the price if they can't keep to the rules.

These cameras could also have another use, though one I shall cover here very briefly. If government plans are realised to change the way cars are taxed, then this new camera system could be used to charge cars by the mileage that they use.

All speed cameras and the speed limit are there to protect every road user. It is time to put an end to the belief that it is safer to speed slightly than it is to keep to the rules. And with it, we can finally begin to rule out the scourge that is frequent speeding.

REFERENCES:

• Information on 2021 speed camera tolerances come from Jamie Gibbs at https://www.confused.com/car-insurance/guides/speed-camera-tolerances
• Where referenced, speeding statistics are provided by Essex Police on their website here: https://www.essex.police.uk/foi-ai/af/accessing-information/published-items/?q=speeding