The British government has announced new plans to make the fines for speeding on the road more fair. Rather than have a standard fine and points endorsement regardless of how much over the limit one drives, they’ve decided to provide a rated system. So, the closer to the speed limit, the less your fine and points endorsement. First time offenders who speed in the lowest rating can take a speed awareness course (at their own expense) to forgo the lowest two point endorsement.

Does it matter how fast someone is over the speed limit? Not to me it doesn’t. Driving a vehicle is one huge responsibility and a huge risk. I believe that the fines proposed (from £40 to £100) are still woefully lower if one considers the overall cost of running a vehicle. Even disqualifications tend to be for a specified period rather than for life, then all is okay and off you go again.

We have ‘Twenty’s Plenty’ schemes near where I live. This shows that even the minimum speed limit is well in excess of what is sometimes appropriate. I don’t believe that are fines for travelling at 30 miles per hour. Which is a pity.

Because:

• if hit by a car travelling at 40 mph, almost 90% pedestrians are killed;
• at 30 mph, almost half of pedestrians are killed and many are seriously injured;
• at 20 mph, only 1 in 20 pedestrians are killed and most injuries are slight.