Speed limit

There’s been a bit of drama in the UK parliament recently, not on the scale of what happens in the Greek or Italian parliaments but on our scale it has hotted up a bit. A few weeks ago it was reported that the minister responsible for defence had broken parliamentary rules. What he did was invite along a chap who was a friend of his and had been the best man at his wedding, to meetings in other countries and the friend had not been vetted by the civil service. Furthermore the friend had gone around saying he was an adviser to the minister and even had cards printed saying that was the case.

Well it was all rubbish. What he was doing was trying to cash in on deals with foreign governments and everyone believed he was the minister’s official adviser. Well, that wasn’t on, and so the minister resigned. Now, he was replaced by another member of parliament who had previously been the minister for transport. I hope you’re keeping up with me. This new defence minister in his previous post in transport some weeks before had advocated increasing the speed on motorways to 80 miles per hour from 70. Now we come to the point – last night a motorway in the south west was the scene of a terrible crash involving about 30 cars and lorries colliding into each other, injuring 30-40 people and killing several others.

What I would like to know is what the new defence minster thinks about his earlier proposal to increase the speed limit. The trouble is that cars are so comfortable these days that people drive without taking into consideration the weather conditions. No-one knows the cause but there is a theory that a large cloud of smoke crossed the motorway from a field nearby where a firework display was taking place because at this time of year (November 5th) people have bonfires and firework displays.
What do you think of high speeds on motorways?

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15604537

(1) I do not drive, but these are my thoughts (and observations as a pedestrian):

(a) Many drivers drive like (excuse the word) savages.

(b) Whether it’s on freeways (motorways) or on regular surface streets, whether the driver is male or female, many of them drive like …

© Most American motorists do seem to respect, generally speaking, the rights of pedestrians. I hear that in many (most?) countries, drivers do NOT respect pedestrians’ rights and that a pedestrian takes his life in his hands when he tries to use a crosswalk.

(d) I hear (I may be wrong) that there is no speed limit on the freeways in some countries. I believe that some people argue that speed is not necessarily the reason for horrific crashes. They blame those horrific crashes on the basic fact that so many people drive like … I guess that even people who drive at 25 m.p.h. are capable, too, of driving like …

(e) Here in California, I believe that the usual freeway speed limit is 65. Of course, many drivers go faster.

(f) When it rains, some people are so (excuse the word) stupid that they do not slow down. They actually seem to speed up! Whenever it rains, you can count on seeing on TV many reports of terrible accidents (on freeways and surface streets) because many people are … and drive like …

(g) Personally, I wish the governments would force all car companies to manfacture cars that could not go faster than 40 m.p.h. What’s the rush anyway? Unless it’s a police car or ambulance, there is no need for the ordinary person to ever go faster than 40. Slow down and smell the flowers.

Speed doesn’t kill. Impatience does.
Lowering the speed limit won’t alter the mindset of those drivers who insist on breaking it.

Dear Alan! You touched a very important topic. Excessive speed that is one thing. I would in my thoughts went even furter. Hearing how many casualities each day involves driving a car, I believe that humanity should strive to overcome long distances by public transport. Many people did the sport from driving. This is a very rickless habit and we have to stop it. I have long been redistribute this opinion. I heard that Japan has gone in this direction. We can’t change human nature, but we can change the mode of transport. My greetings. Alicja1

Of course I don’t know what the appropriate speed limit would be to help lower the number of car accidents. Sure, the faster the car goes, the more time it takes to stop and the more deadly the impact is; but there are other things people are guilty of while driving, things which are at least as dangerous as speeding: carelessness behind the wheel (I’m thinking: texting, playing the radio much too loudly etc.), recklessness at the wheel (Some people sneer at the rules of the road and display a sense of entitlement – they act as if they were the kings of the road!) and so on.

Are you serious – 40 miles per hour?! Try driving through the desert at 40 miles per hour – see how long it takes you before you fall asleep out of boredom. There are no flowers to smell either! :wink: