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Dear Sir/Madam,
In yesterday's Telegraph you report that the German driving ace, Ralf Schumacher, may be facing a two-week driving ban, having been caught speeding at 106 mph in a 60 mph zone in Austria (News in Brief: Schumacher caught at 106mph, 24 April 2001).
Imagine his speeding had caused a fatal accident: would a 2-week driving ban still seem appropriate?
Yet he is just as culpable as a speedster unfortunate enough to do just that. In fact, he is more culpable, because he earns a fortune from being a famous racing driver and acting as a role model for thousand, if not millions, of young men and drivers.
Instead of setting a good example, he chose to do the very opposite. Ideally the Austrian authorities will now make an example of him: he should be banned from driving for at least 6 months (if it is only his first offence), and if he is caught a second time, for 2 - 3 years.
You'd be surprised just how quickly he and other speedsters would learn to keep to the speed limit, and how drastically the number of people killed and maimed on our roads would be reduced.
They will not do it unfortunately. As in Britain, the freedom to speed with virtual impunity is more important to many drivers - and politicians - than the several hundred lives that could be saved each year in Britain alone.
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