Paralympic cyclist-turned-active travel commissioner Dame Sarah Storey and leading roads policing figure Detective Chief Superintendent Andy Cox have added their views to the wider discussion about speeding on Britain's roads, discourse that has been in the public eye during the scrutiny of home secretary Suella Braverman's alleged desire to arrange a private speed awareness course following a speeding offence.

Yesterday, we reported that cycling campaign group the London Cycling Campaign (LCC) had criticised Braverman for "avoiding public scrutiny" by allegedly requesting civil servants arrange a private speed awareness course in order to avoid the Conservative politician being recognised by members of the public.

The story has prompted many national newspaper and talk show opinion pieces on the wider issue of speeding, one from Simon Jenkins in today's Guardian titled 'Get a grip, Westminster – Suella Braverman speeding is hardly the issue of the day' and the Mail's Richard Littlejohn calling it a "squabble [...] nobody died".

However, stressing the seriousness to road safety, DCS Andy Cox — the national lead for fatal collision reporting who has now taken a role within the Metropolitan Police — called speeding an "utterly unacceptable" act.

"In the last 24 hours, there has been a lot of debate regarding speeding," DCS Cox noted. "Speeding is a leading cause of fatal crashes, destroys life and leaves bereaved families with lifelong impact. I hope the debate moves onto the offence itself, the risk it posed and why speeding is utterly unacceptable."

Adding to Cox's thoughts, Storey, who last year replaced Chris Boardman as Greater Manchester active travel commissioner, said some of the social media replies to the tweet, downplaying the danger of speeding, showed the "entitlement and subsequent risk" posed by many.

"Some of the responses and quote tweets on this statement, from a leading police expert, demonstrates perfectly the level of entitlement and subsequent risk posed by some drivers," Storey wrote.

"Too many 'my speeding/driving offences won't cause harm' attitudes, but every driver who contributed to the c.1800/year death toll thought the same. Also many thousands are left with life-changing injuries because a driver didn't acknowledge it could happen to them. Driving is a skill that's never retested despite the size of machine and risk.

"Are speed awareness courses trivialised by so many because they aren't proportional to the offence? Is the content lacking impact to reduce reoffending? What would work better? Ultimately the choice can't be that speeding is accepted as part of life."

Simon Munk, Head of Campaigns at the LCC yesterday told road.cc that "anyone in public life, let alone someone responsible for the public's safety, attempting to stand above the public on this issue and avoid an appropriate punishment is deeply concerning".

Braverman says she is "confident nothing untoward happened", but also refused to be drawn over whether she asked civil servants to arrange a private speed awareness course having been caught speeding in 2022.

https://road.cc/content/news/dame-sarah-storey-calls-out-speeding-drivers-301411

On 23/05/2023 02:41 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> Paralympic chav-cyclist-turned-active travel commissioner Dame Sarah Storey and leading roads policing figure Detective Chief Superintendent Andy Cox have added their views to the wider discussion about speeding on Britain's roads, discourse that has been in the public eye during the scrutiny of home secretary Suella Braverman's alleged desire to arrange a private speed awareness course following a speeding offence.
> Yesterday, we reported that chav-cycling campaign group the London Chav Cycling Campaign (LCC) had criticised Braverman for "avoiding public scrutiny" by allegedly requesting civil servants arrange a private speed awareness course in order to avoid the Conservative politician being recognised by members of the public.
> The story has prompted many national newspaper and talk show opinion pieces on the wider issue of speeding, one from Simon Jenkins in today's Guardian titled 'Get a grip, Westminster – Suella Braverman speeding is hardly the issue of the day' and the Mail's Richard Littlejohn calling it a "squabble [...] nobody died".
> However, stressing the seriousness to road safety, DCS Andy Cox — the national lead for fatal collision reporting who has now taken a role within the Metropolitan Police — called speeding an "utterly unacceptable" act.

It has nothing to do with the police. Nothing whatsoever.
>
> "In the last 24 hours, there has been a lot of debate regarding speeding," DCS Cox noted. "Speeding is a leading cause of fatal crashes, destroys life and leaves bereaved families with lifelong impact. I hope the debate moves onto the offence itself, the risk it posed and why speeding is utterly unacceptable."
> Adding to Cox's thoughts, Storey, who last year replaced Chris Boardman as Greater Manchester active travel commissioner, said some of the social media replies to the tweet, downplaying the danger of speeding, showed the "entitlement and subsequent risk" posed by many.
> "Some of the responses and quote tweets on this statement, from a leading police expert, demonstrates perfectly the level of entitlement and subsequent risk posed by some drivers," Storey wrote.
> "Too many 'my speeding/driving offences won't cause harm' attitudes, but every driver who contributed to the c.1800/year death toll thought the same. Also many thousands are left with life-changing injuries because a driver didn't acknowledge it could happen to them. Driving is a skill that's never retested despite the size of machine and risk.
> "Are speed awareness courses trivialised by so many because they aren't proportional to the offence? Is the content lacking impact to reduce reoffending? What would work better? Ultimately the choice can't be that speeding is accepted as part of life."

No, not like deaths caused by terrorist attacks which are "part and
parcel of living in a big city", eh?

> Simon Munk, Head of Campaigns at the LCC yesterday told road.cc that "anyone in public life, let alone someone responsible for the public's safety, attempting to stand above the public on this issue and avoid an appropriate punishment is deeply concerning".
> Braverman says she is "confident nothing untoward happened", but also refused to be drawn over whether she asked civil servants to arrange a private speed awareness course having been caught speeding in 2022.
>
> https://road.cc/content/news/dame-sarah-storey-calls-out-speeding-drivers-301411

I remonstrated with a driver today - 48 in a 30. He braked to a halt to see what the problem was "It's 30 mph and you were doing at least 45" "No I weren't," Then he drove off. It was a windy road, no pavement and the section is used by walkers and dog walkers. I doubt his behaviour will change as he clearly had no idea of his speed.

It's weird: I mean, on my (very) old car, there's this round, clock-shaped thing on the dashboard (just below my eyeline if I'm looking ahead). It indicates how fast I'm driving, giving me fair warning to change my speed if I'm going faster than that marked up as the "speed limit" on big steel painted signs at regular intervals along the side of the road.

It can't be that different on modern cars, surely?

On 23/05/2023 06:07 pm, Simon Mason wrote:
> I remonstrated with a driver today - 48 in a 30. He braked to a halt to see what the problem was "It's 30 mph and you were doing at least 45" "No I weren't," Then he drove off. It was a windy road, no pavement and the section is used by walkers and dog walkers. I doubt his behaviour will change as he clearly had no idea of his speed.
>
> It's weird: I mean, on my (very) old car, there's this round, clock-shaped thing on the dashboard (just below my eyeline if I'm looking ahead). It indicates how fast I'm driving, giving me fair warning to change my speed if I'm going faster than that marked up as the "speed limit" on big steel painted signs at regular intervals along the side of the road.
>
> It can't be that different on modern cars, surely?

Are you quite mad?

[That's rhetorical, a word you may look up.]

On Tuesday, May 23, 2023 at 6:07:35 PM UTC+1, Simon Mason wrote:
> I remonstrated with a driver today - 48 in a 30. He braked to a halt to see what the problem was "It's 30 mph and you were doing at least 45" "No I weren't," Then he drove off. It was a windy road, no pavement and the section is used by walkers and dog walkers. I doubt his behaviour will change as he clearly had no idea of his speed.
>
> It's weird: I mean, on my (very) old car, there's this round, clock-shaped thing on the dashboard (just below my eyeline if I'm looking ahead). It indicates how fast I'm driving, giving me fair warning to change my speed if I'm going faster than that marked up as the "speed limit" on big steel painted signs at regular intervals along the side of the road.
>
> It can't be that different on modern cars, surely?

wtjs replied to Hirsute | 2860 posts | 11 hours ago
0 likes

Forgot to say it was a wankpanzer so rules don't apply

One thing the WP drivers have learned, in addition to the 'accelerate out of trouble' mantra, is to confidently state blatant untruths- they are unrepentant liars. This one simply declared that he had 'given me 1.5m' when I caught up with him at temporary traffic lights just beyond, before threatening to 'fucking flatten' me and to knock me off my bike.

https://cdn.road.cc/sites/default/files/styles/main_width/public/ClosePassBMW-7Aug21-0003.jpg

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Tuesday, May 23, 2023 at 6:07:35 PM UTC+1, Simon Mason wrote:
>> I remonstrated with a driver today - 48 in a 30. He braked to a halt to
>> see what the problem was "It's 30 mph and you were doing at least 45"
>> "No I weren't," Then he drove off. It was a windy road, no pavement and
>> the section is used by walkers and dog walkers. I doubt his behaviour
>> will change as he clearly had no idea of his speed.
>>
>> It's weird: I mean, on my (very) old car, there's this round,
>> clock-shaped thing on the dashboard (just below my eyeline if I'm
>> looking ahead). It indicates how fast I'm driving, giving me fair
>> warning to change my speed if I'm going faster than that marked up as
>> the "speed limit" on big steel painted signs at regular intervals along
>> the side of the road.
>>
>> It can't be that different on modern cars, surely?
>
> wtjs replied to Hirsute | 2860 posts | 11 hours ago
> 0 likes
>
> Forgot to say it was a wankpanzer so rules don't apply
>
> One thing the WP drivers have learned, in addition to the 'accelerate out
> of trouble' mantra, is to confidently state blatant untruths- they are
> unrepentant liars. This one simply declared that he had 'given me 1.5m'
> when I caught up with him at temporary traffic lights just beyond, before
> threatening to 'fucking flatten' me and to knock me off my bike.

> https://cdn.road.cc/sites/default/files/styles/main_width/public/ClosePassBMW-7Aug21-0003.jpg

Good job the driver didn’t say “I’ll put you on the ground, matey” in the
lauded manner of Saint Mike van twErp, eh?

--
Spike

Sorry but it isn't just wankpanzers. Almost everyone that drives picks and chooses which bits of the law apply to them, and when. Whether its speed limits, driving tired, doing a 3 point turn just round a bend, stopping on double yellows for a couple of minutes, having a couple of pints, putting off the service til next month, not replacing worn tyres, we all know the problems and their excuses.

The police are too busy to have proper traffic cops any more, or a decent number of them. They sympathise with minor offenders.

If cases ever get to court, judges and juries sympathise too, because they have done it as well, and can you imagine not being able to drive somewhere?!

I know, because I have been guilty of this in the past when I have been driving. I'm trying to improve.

Someone please tell the moron author of this piece about wholesale cyclist
RLJ (nearly 50% in one recent pro-cycling video!) and footway cycling.

Perhaps they should be referred to as wankbikers?

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> Sorry but it isn't just wankpanzers. Almost everyone that drives picks
> and chooses which bits of the law apply to them, and when. Whether its
> speed limits, driving tired, doing a 3 point turn just round a bend,
> stopping on double yellows for a couple of minutes, having a couple of
> pints, putting off the service til next month, not replacing worn tyres,
> we all know the problems and their excuses.
>
> The police are too busy to have proper traffic cops any more, or a decent
> number of them. They sympathise with minor offenders.
>
> If cases ever get to court, judges and juries sympathise too, because
> they have done it as well, and can you imagine not being able to drive somewhere?!
>
> I know, because I have been guilty of this in the past when I have been
> driving. I'm trying to improve.

Perhaps a change of approach might help?

--
Spike

Someone please tell the moron author of this piece about wholesale cyclist
RLJ (nearly 50% in one recent pro-cycling video!) and footway cycling.

Perhaps they should be referred to as wankbikers?

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> Sorry but it isn't just wankpanzers. Almost everyone that drives picks
> and chooses which bits of the law apply to them, and when. Whether its
> speed limits, driving tired, doing a 3 point turn just round a bend,
> stopping on double yellows for a couple of minutes, having a couple of
> pints, putting off the service til next month, not replacing worn tyres,
> we all know the problems and their excuses.
>
> The police are too busy to have proper traffic cops any more, or a decent
> number of them. They sympathise with minor offenders.
>
> If cases ever get to court, judges and juries sympathise too, because
> they have done it as well, and can you imagine not being able to drive somewhere?!
>
> I know, because I have been guilty of this in the past when I have been
> driving. I'm trying to improve.

Perhaps a change of approach might help?

--
Spike

On Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at 4:30:57 PM UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> Sorry but it isn't just wankpanzers. Almost everyone that drives picks and chooses which bits of the law apply to them, and when.

This is the result.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FwzSA0KXsAATHr7?format=jpg&name=medium

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at 4:30:57 PM UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>> Sorry but it isn't just wankpanzers. Almost everyone that drives picks
>> and chooses which bits of the law apply to them, and when.
>
> This is the result.

> https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FwzSA0KXsAATHr7?format=jpg&name=medium

So long as the bicycle number was lower than the motor-vehicle number, the
excuse would be “but it’s only a handful!”, as in pedestrians being killed
by pavement cyclists.

--
Spike

On Wednesday, 24 May 2023 at 16:55:37 UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at 4:30:57 PM UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> > Sorry but it isn't just wankpanzers. Almost everyone that drives picks and chooses which bits of the law apply to them, and when.
> This is the result.
>
> https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FwzSA0KXsAATHr7?format=jpg&name=medium

Who knew that motor vehicles kill the most people?7
Fancy that.