Remove Red Tape

Road Safety and Cycling

These regulations aim to ensure that we reduce road accidents and injuries without unnecessarily restricting personal freedoms. They cover road rules, speed limits and regulations which aim to protect the safety of road users such as the wearing of motorcycle helmets and seat belts.

You can find all the regulations that relate to road safety and cycling below to the left.

Tell us what you think should happen to these regulations and why, being specific where possible:

• Should we scrap them altogether?
• Could their purpose be achieved in a non-regulatory way (eg through a voluntary code?) How?
• Could they be reformed, simplified or merged? How?
• Can we reduce their bureaucracy through better implementation? How?
• Can we make their enforcement less burdensome? How?
• Should they be left as they are?

607 comments on “Road Safety and Cycling”

1. Mr Walker on June 17, 2011 at 3:17 am said:

   There should be a national standardisation for the point at which speed limit enforcement commences of at least 10% + 3 mph – There is too much of a descrepancy across the UK with regards to this which is unacceptable meaning motorists are unclear where they stand.

   The spin and relentless & down right dangerous anti “speed” propaganda we had under the last government has to be reigned in. The ad campaigns endorsed by the last government such as the “Hit at me at 40, 80 percent chance will live die, hit me at 30 80% chance i’ll live” are blatently misleading as one is talking about a child and the 30 figure is for an adult! In addition many 30 zones are not even in residential areas many of which are unnecessary. There should be a review to cut down on this and restore a sensible balance between road safety and allowing motorist to drive at a reasonable and sensible speed.

   In addition most car speedometers are innacurate by around 10%, therefore the few idiots who have actually taken the speed campaigns literally to the letter of the law, looking at their 30mph speedos when they should be spending more time looking at the road ahead, are actually doing more like 25mph, and it only takes one of these idiots to hold up everyone else behind them and jam up the roads! It is a simple law of mathematics that the slower people are forced to drive, the longer they will be on the roads for, therefore the more congested roads become and the less productive the economy becomes, and the more angry, frustrated and unhealthy the population become. No More 30mph limit campaigns!!!

   To this end, speed cameras should be abolished on a more official basis rather than as an inevitability of budget cuts, and all speed cameras which did not meet the requirements when they were 1st put up, but were allowed to stay (i.e more than 4 or accidents at that spot int he last 3 years), should be given top priority for removal, particularly those on open 60mph+ roads. Even higher priority for removal should be those on motorways, as speed cameras there are DOWN RIGHT DANGEROUS! – The number of near accidents i have seen where people slam on the brakes for the cameras is ridiculous, and this is slowing down from a perfectly reasonable speed initially to comply with ridiculous speed limits which often quite frankly make a mockery of the law. Also, speed camera warning signs should not be banned unless there is a fixed operational speed camera within 1 mile, otherwise they are effectively crying wolf and trying to catch people speeding rather than being a deterrant for excessive speed at inappropriate locations which is the only vaguely credible argument for their existence. Police mobile speed cameras and other speed enforcement operations should also only be allowed in areas with warning signs to that end. And for god’s sake get rid of the childish fake speed camera lines on motorways! They are down right dangerous and annoy people!

   Also, the obsession with speed limits rather than sensible speed for the conditions, works the other way too leading to excess speeds for conditions even though within the limit i.e 30 outside schools and nightclubs, when 15mph would be more appropriate. I had a discussion with a police traffic sergeant a few years ago and even he agreed with many of the points i made in this and the previous post.

   Also, the argument for increasing the speed limit on motorways to at least 80mph to begin with, is pretty airtight when you consider the majority of the public exceed the motorway limit regularly and deem it to be perfecly acceptable. The majority of the public consistently cant be wrong and are sending a strong message about this.

   All road conditions are different, yet so many of these varying roads have 30mph limits by default simply because of street lighting and no posted limit. This default setting should be scrapped. Ideally the answer would be variable speed limits, but the argument is then enevitably that that would be too expensive and complicated which is why descretion with regards to enforcement is a must and this whole mentality and propaganda that a few mph over the limit is unnacceptable is completely wrong.

   An additional point regarding the driving test and better driver training for those who don’t comply (specific to their identified area of weakness) – Make people more aware of the requirement for them to keep their full beams on at night wherever possible (unless cars coming the other way obvs), when there is a vehicle behind who may wish to overtake so they can see the road ahead! So many idiots are unaware of this, forcing me to blind them with full beam so i can see the road ahead before I overtake. Then they have the cheek to do the same to you after you have overtaken blindly thinking they are in the right and you are in the wrong, clueless about how they are in the wrong and how their own stupidity has caused the situtation in the 1st place! So frustrating and unneccessary! Include it in the driving test (night driving should be mandatory) – And make it and offence not to comply if it is not so already, so police can stop and educate these people. The person who is forced to put their full beams on so they can overtake the person in front, should NOT be commiting an offence, that would be ludicrous, neither should someone who undertakes a car on the motorway when they’re sat in the outside lane with no car in front of them. That is an offence unbelievably, even though they have little choice. That is absolute madness!!

   Also, the argument that reduction in casualty figures means speed campaign is working is completely flaud due to the following…

   1.) Figures were manipulated, i.e changed from those “killed or seriously injured” per year to those simply killed + what is the definition of seriously injured?!
   2.) Reduction due to other factors such as improved car safety and better driver education in some areas (still very much lacking though!)
   3.) Volume of traffic on road not consistent (i.e could be falling due to increases in oil prices and cheaper alternatives to driving)
   4.) Could be caused by the fact that traffic is more jammed up more often than ever before so travelling at significantly reduced speeds and less opportunity for those who drive at grossly inappropriate speeds for the conditions to do so. So whether traffic volume has increased or decreased the argument is valid both ways.

   There should also be better training for police to educate them as to the appropriate conditions and locations for speed enforcement (i.e accident blackspot areas, blind bends and crests of a hill) NOT long straight roads where people are inevitably going to speed because it is much safer to do so than at other locations [text deleted]. Infact, this is one area where extra legislation should perhaps be brought in to ensure the police don’t abuse their descretion and apply it appropriately in designated areas with clear warning for the public. Otherwise i have said before, they are just playing a game of catch the speeder rather than actually trying to bring down speed in appropriate locations. They would probably argue that by people not knowing where they are, they are more effective, but then the risk of being “caught” is substantially lower, and not sufficient to effect behaviour in a meaningfuil way. But of course fear and the threat of being “caught” is never the right way forward, education is, but ONLY education where appropriate for REAL grossly excessive speed, or at blackspots and blind bends etx, not just anyone who strays 10 or 15mph over on a relatively straight road! – The distinction is essential!

   What is clear is that if speed limit enforcement is going to continue to become tighter (i.e through SPECS) cameras etc (which is not the way forward in any case), then regulations for speed limits need to be made more reasonable at the same, if not a faster rate and it is imperative we move away from a system of speed limits which are set artifically low supposedly in the name of road safety. This is the only way to maintain speed limit credibility. The alternative is to increase enforcement descreation degrees, but this will simply make speed limits even more uncredible.

   Last, but by no means least a further compelling argument against the whole reduction of speed campaign is that many road accidents have infact been caused by frustrated motorists infuriated by idiots driving at ridiculously slow speeds. The older driver for example, doing 45mph on an open A road, forcing other drivers to overtake and subject themselves to the risk associated with that, is a real concern also. Drivers subjected to this regularly on roads with few overtaking opportunities are inevitably going to become frustrated with these dangerous and inconsiderate drivers, and are going to feel compelled to take greater risks. There can be no doubt in my mind that a driver travelling at 45mph on an open A road, poses a much greater risk to the public than one doiing 65mph, despite the 65mph driver being on the wrong side of the law! – Absolute insanity. And they have been so brainwashed, that as you speed past them they then have the cheek to look at you as if they hold the moral highground! Not only that but studies have shown that driving at a greater speed keeps the driver more alert, wheras plodding at 50mph often leaves them less alert, more dosile an prone to fatigue and missing hazards! – The argument is concrete. Please do all you can to end this living hell for Britains motorists on our road network!
2. Mr Walker on June 16, 2011 at 11:39 pm said:

   The last government brainwashed an entire generation with the relentless “speed kills” retterick, without actually educating them on what really matters which is safer driving in general. The last government saw speed reduction as the answer to everything as the mistakes of poor drivers would potentially be made worse if a subsequent collision it caused happened at a greater speed. They ignored the fact that 85% of accidents don’t even involved speed as a factor, and that only 7% of accidents are as a direct result of excessive speed. Statistics have shown that those who break the speed limit by up to 15mph are generally more capable drivers, where as the dumb automotons and generally older drivers who religously stick to the speed limit regardless of the conditions or common sense, generally are the ones who don’t indicate, hog the middle lane in motorways and other similar actions which demonstrate their lack of ability. The result [text deleted] was the victimisation of the more capable drivers, while the idiots drive on regardless. What has been the result of this? Snarling traffic and congestion which is compounded to a large degree by unneccessarily slow drivers.

   This needs correctling as a matter of urgency, with far more emphasis on the issues of bad driving. These bad drivers should have to undergo training. Scrap the LUDICROUS “speed awareness” courses which were never about education, but was about propaganda and promoting a political agenda/belief, and use the money spent on that to train those who actually need it! Change the driving test so you get rid of all the ludicrous requirements such as scraping a kerb in the slightest way being an instant fail, and being penalised for turning the wheel while the car is stationary and for not “shuffling” the steering wheel. What normal driver in their right mind actually does that?! – Instructors and examiners don’t even do it themselves. They don’t practice what they preach so that tells you all you need to know about that! Replace those requirements with ones that require candidates to demonstrate they have a deep understading of the more complex rules of the road such as proper lane usage on complex roundabouts, motorways, and other junctions, appropriate overtaking manouvers, how to bump start a car, and about leaving larger gaps between cars in front etc etc

   A greater emphasis should be placed on driving at an appropriate speed for the conditions, and yes that absolutely means breaking the law which believe it or not is sometimes dangerous not to do so! – On more than one occasion i have seen a speed limit on a motorway go from 70 to 30. 99% of drivers ignore it, if 1 idiot chose to obey the law they are risking a serious accident! And of course more common sense in setting speed limits is required. Better and more common sense enforcement needs to be promoted. 20mph zones outside schools should be variable depending on the time of day, just like bus lanes have variable times of operation. It is ludicrous to require drivers to slow down to 20mph outside a school at 3am!!!

   Also, get rid of 50mph limits on motorways at rush hour! Many may claim traffic moves more smoothly because of these limits, but that is only because people dont leave a big enough gap between cars so they brake and others behind them brake etc etc. If the emphasis and campaigns were switched to ensuring people leave an appropriate gap beween vehicles, use lanes appropriately (improper lane usage slows down the flow of traffic!!!), and the other things i’ve mentioned, there would not be the need for all these speed restrictions!

   And introduce the policy [text deleted] and restore some credibility to motorway speed limits and increase the limit to 80mph! The 70mph limit was set about 50 years ago by one woman as a temporary measure! – Do not be intimidated the “speed kills” mob and their relentless campaigns. Many of these people have been through tradgedy and lost loved ones due to excessive speed (FOR THE CONDITIONS) grossly in excess of speed limits. This is a different issue altogether. [text deleted]. Have courage to apply some common sense back into our road network and traffic laws! The law is black and white, real life is not, descretion is vital. The days of people being criticised for going a few mph over the limit need to end, it’s time for some intelligent thinking and common sense!
3. David Mair on June 16, 2011 at 7:47 pm said:

   I would like to see the current DSA test evolved to incorporate more of the features of Advanced Driving as demonstrated in Roadcraft.