Don’t fine drivers for doing 31mph in a 30mph zone

Drivers could soon be prosecuted for travelling 1 mph over the speed limit, at least if some MPs get their way. The all-party parliamentary group on walking and cycling (APPGWC) also proposes stiffer penalties for drivers of heavy cars like SUVs involved in accidents, and an invariable requirement for a fresh driving test for anyone disqualified. However well they may go down among a certain class of activist, it’s not difficult to see that these are all fairly terrible ideas. 

First, speed limits. Current informal guidance from police chiefs, pretty widely observed in England (though not in Scotland) is ’10 per cent plus 2′: in other words, ignore speeds up to 35 mph in a 30 mph zone, 57 in a 50 mph zone, and so on. This must go, the APPGWC say. Why? Half of motorists sometimes speed; prosecuting them represents nothing more than the ‘foundation of road justice’; and any leniency ‘fosters a belief that traffic law does not need to be taken seriously’.