Last August I went out on a
Friday night to conduct a lesson. It was
the last time I will ever do it. It
seemed to me that every other car was driven by a boy racer and the standard of
driving by those that weren’t young men with an overload of testosterone were
just as bad. The final straw came when I
had to dual control my pupil on Bowaters roundabout due to a laughing maniac in
a Lexus who decided cutting us up was funny!
In a separate incident a couple of months later I was driving through
Welling in the early hours of the morning.
Waiting at a set of traffic lights turning right into Welling High Street,
I started to move forward when the lights changed to green. 3 cars approaching from the left decided that
their high speed race was more important than stopping at a red light – at
least the first 2 did, screaming through at speeds in excess of 50mph. The 3rd car did stop only to jump
the red light once we had completed our turn, overtaking us and tearing after
his mates.
Now the biggest issue with both
of these incidents isn’t the recklessness of the driving, although that is of
concern. It is that this kind of
behaviour is becoming more common because there is no attempt at policing it
whatsoever. Every day I see multiple
occurrences of wanton law-breaking on the roads, everything from using mobile
phones to jumping red lights, from illegal parking to dangerous driving. Within government there seems to be a belief
that simply introducing a law is sufficient to stop people doing things which
may be dangerous. Rules without
enforcement or without realistic threat of enforcement are rules which are not
going to be adhered to, certainly not by those who can’t even spell ‘law’ let
alone abide by it. When was the last
time you saw the police stop someone?
They know law-breaking goes on but they do not have either the resources
or the inclination to do anything about it.
Unfortunately, if we, as citizens, take evidence of careless or
dangerous driving to them, they still won’t do anything.
The vast majority of drivers on
the roads are reasonable most of the time.
We also know that anyone can make a mistake. Answering the mobile phone when driving is
not a mistake; it is a downright blatant breaking of the law. It is highly dangerous and if you haven’t had
an accident while doing it then that is more by luck than skill. Why is it that the best drivers don’t talk on
the mobile while they are driving?
Because they know it is dangerous, in any situation. Speeding can be a mistake and the speed
awareness courses are a good remedy for people who make that mistake. However, some speeding is not a mistake being
instead a blatant breaking of the law – we can all tell the difference. Slowing down for a speed camera and then
speeding up again is deliberate, not a mistake.
Why should I, as a law-abiding
driver, bother to adhere to the rules? The
likelihood of being caught is small and the punishment irrelevant. If a young driver was to not get insured on
his car and get caught, he would get a £300 fine and 6 points. If he got insurance in the first place it
could cost £2000. So it is cheaper to
drive without insurance! Okay, he may
get 6 points but is he really going to care?
So why do I bother? For two
reasons: First it is my livelihood at stake.
Secondly, I have a sense of civic responsibility which means that I am
going to abide by the law if I can.
Unfortunately this attitude is in shorter supply today than in the
past. Perhaps it is an age thing?
Now some will say that I am
excessively concerned about what examples of law-breaking are important and
which are not. My concern is that
breaking the law ‘by a little bit’ is simply a precursor to breaking the law
‘by a lot’ and it is still breaking the law!
When does failing to stop at an amber light turn into jumping a red
light? Half a second later? At what speed in excess of the limit does it
become a problem? If someone does 35mph
in a 30 limit, is that really any different to doing 38 or 40? Yes, the consequences may be more serious but
does that make the law-breaking any less serious? The consequences of law-breaking may be an
issue of degree. The punishment may be
an issue of degree. Law-breaking itself
is absolute - you are either breaking the law or you are not! If you, even as a predominantly law-abiding
citizen, do it, then stop. If you are
not part of the solution, you are part of the problem so stick to your
principles and drive the way you should, completely within the law, to the best
of your ability.
So, with the police having almost
completely abdicated responsibility for enforcing road law, how are we going to
stop this relentless push into driving without limits? In my opinion, every road user has a
responsibility in this area. Society as
a whole needs to take a stand against wanton law-breaking on the roads. Why do most people wear seatbelts when driving? Because the campaign back in the 1970’s got
into society’s consciousness and as a result society demanded that seatbelts
became the norm.
Take the very prevalent example
of mobile phone use. If you currently do
it, stop! If you wait until you are in
traffic or at traffic lights, then stop because that is still illegal. When you get in the car, put your phone on
silent and out of reach so that you are not tempted. If you need to use it, pull up somewhere safe
and legal and then use it. If you are a
passenger and the driver decides to use their phone, get them to pull over so
you can get out. Don’t get back in until
they put their phone out of reach. If
you ring someone and you know they are driving, when they answer ask if they
are hands-free. If not, then ring off. Take every opportunity to tell people what
you think of those who use their mobile when driving. Lead by example. If we make this activity distasteful enough
and those that do it idiots of a special class then maybe, just maybe, they
will think twice the next time.
www.ashleyschoolofmotoring.co.uk
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