Roger.Hicks@spaceship-earth.de
Government measures to reduce speeding will only encourage offenders
SIR - I write in response to the article 'Excessive' speeders face jail sentence' It is suggested that increasing the maximum sentence from a fine to jail for those who are caught driving at more than 30 mph above the speed limit would prove a more effective deterrent against speeding.
I totally disagree. On the contrary, it would convey the message that provided they do not overdo it - that is, travel at more than 30 mph above the limit - drivers may continue to speed with a reasonably clear conscience and relative impunity.
If the Government wants to significantly reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on your roads, it needs to promote a radical change in motoring culture, in which speed limits are accepted for what they were originally meant to be: the maximum speed at which a motorist is permitted to travel.
There were once technical reasons why speed limits could not be stringently enforced, but this is no longer the case; a car's speed can now be determined very easily and accurately.
In any case, it should not be a matter of 'punishing' drivers who break the speed limit, so much as 'sending them off', like in football; how long they are sent off for depending on how seriously or how often they offend.
