Today Portsmouth became the first UK city to enforce a blanket 20mph speed limit. Not over the whole metropolis but over a southern quarter.
Great. I can think of some cities I drive in and on one motorway where reaching 20mph from time to time would be a godsend.
Statistically I see sound logic. At 20mph a child being struck by a car has 40 per cent more likelihood of survival then one struck at 30mph. Drivers have a responsibility and many don’t live up to it. Limits change nothing for these people.
Predictably Brake, a road safety lobby, welcomed the news. Also predictably it went right over the top, describing people wanting to drive at more than 20mph as ‘speed freaks.’ No gross exaggeration there then.
Also in the news is a row brewing over the Japanese habit of giving youngsters realistic-looking fake booze so the will not feel left out if the family is having a bit of a shin dig.
Here Britain some nosey knows-better said this may encourage children to drink alcohol at an early age.
Right, here’s my plan.
If it is so easy to condition the kids, why not put more effort to teaching them how not to get run over?
How about putting the emphasis back on tighter parenting instead of coming at the problem from the other end?
This is a two-way street. It is like the kerfuffle that follows accidents on the railway. There’s always a hole in the fence that should have been fixed, never mind that trains are big, fast and can’t steer.
If I was caught flouting the highway code on foot or bike the backs of my legs would sting for a week.
But then that’s been banned now.
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