“Bad Driving Culture That Must Be Reversed”
There is “evidence of a general disregard for proper driving behavior and a bad driving culture that must be reversed,” Officer In Charge of the Roads Police Unit Robert Cardwell said today [Jan 5], noting that we had 16 road fatalities last year, while 126 additional people were admitted to the hospital last year with serious injuries as a result of collisions.
Mr Cardwell said, “The Christmas and New Year period saw relatively good social behavior and the exercise of responsibility as the community celebrated the festive season. However, the same cannot be said for responsible road use. 12 persons were arrested for impaired driving offences over the holiday period. Road traffic collisions occurred that have resulted in serious injury and further loss of life.-
“16 lives have been lost on the roads in 2014 and one life has already been lost in 2015. The majority of the collisions involving the loss of life have involved Bermudian men. Those men leave behind families including mothers, fathers, siblings, children and other extended family members.
“126 people in 2014 have been admitted to the King Edward Memorial Hospital with serious injuries as a result of collisions. These are people who have suffered injuries resulting in brain damage, paralysis, loss or amputation of a limb and many other very serious injuries that will require an extensive period of rehabilitation, rehabilitation in some case that is life-long.
“The Bermuda Police Service will continue its target approach to enforcement of traffic laws through the Selected Traffic Enforcement Program [STEP]. However, enforcement alone cannot prevent future collisions and will not slow down the rate of deaths suffered on the roads.
“Collisions too often are entirely avoidable. Aggravating factors of bad behavior that includes speed, alcohol consumption and general inattention or combinations of these factors are usually present in collisions.
“There is evidence of a general disregard for proper driving behavior and a bad driving culture that must be reversed. Reversing the current trends will require the cooperation of every single road user.”
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Category: Accidents and fires, All, News
The biggest contributor is the mind set of the abuser of and on the road.
They will brake.
They will move over.
They will try to avoid.
They will crash to avoid.
They will give way to me.
RIP.
Only 10+ years late in acknowledging the driving culture, but hey, easy fix right? [/sarcasm]
The police, who see a drunk careening down Kindley Field road and don’t pull him over until Knapton Hill.
stop selling these high powered bikes and lets go back to off the road sentences we have turned money hungry (fine and fine again) in todays society that is no penalty….off the road at 55 kph and years off for over 64 kph. We have allowed this to happen ……We must take it back
Force companies selling cars and bikes to include a governor and limit the speed to 60k.. Make it a huge fine to tamper. And anyone who gets caught over 60k has the bike impounded and tested…
If people can’t controle themselves then technology can donut for them!!
that is retarded and a violation of human rights, orwellian, dictatorship-thinking.
Landscaper of the Mind… So what your saying is a speed limits is:
“retarded and a violation of human rights, orwellian, dictatorship-thinking”
Because everyone that is driving over 60k is breaking the law (yes there are exceptions). If people can’t obey the law then the law has to be enforced in another way….
Not going to happen. A complete non starter. To do this vehicles would have to be changed at the point of manufacture & done through the gearing.
Think for a minute. How much would this add to the cost of a vehicle? Why should all pay the penalty for those who can’t control their speeds?
The simple way is to allow vehicles which are not capable of highway speeds in their mass production form. They do exist. They are not used as over the road vehicles in most places simply because they are not fast enough.
Here the speed is very slow. Well, at least it is supposed to be. IMO Bermuda is a perfect place for street legal ATVs, which only have a top speed of 35mph or so, & side by side utility vehicles. The added bonus is that these things are small. No bigger than a Class B.
No, they are not for everyone. Families need something to haul kids, but most of us could get along quite well with something small & cheap to run.
By virtue of the slower speed of ATVs & utility vehicles on the road they would act as moving speed bumps forcing the heavy footers in their Jeeps & BMWs to slow down.
High powered? 15 hp is less than some lawn mowers, the bikes we are allowed to operate are “learner bikes” one step above the smallest production motor bikes, the 50cc. We should allow bigger bikes, and before one of you burst a vessel, there are Harleys and old police bikes owned and ridden by responsible bermudians( albeit under an extortionate, hush hush per day permit regime), the police for the most part can handle their high powered bikes. 60 kph governors? Come on. We give people a drinking and “high powered” bike and car license at 18, we have an arbitrary allowable alcohol level while espousing don’t drink and drive and project ride is the extent of education, are we serious. Please no more knee-jerk reaction legislation.
I have to agree with Insp Cardwell’s comments: two fatal accidents in the first week of the year does not bode well for the next 51 weeks!
Mind you, I must admit that I’ve never been particularly impressed with Bermudian driving standards, and by that I mean the standards of EVERYONE who drives in Bermuda and not just Bermudians! Most people are OK as long as they keep reasonably close to the speed limit, but the problems tend to arise when excessive speed is combined with alcohol and/or drugs, which seems to be happening far too much these days.
I’m open to correction here, but my recollection is that Bermuda’s worst ever year for traffic accident fatalities was 1970 when we had 24: this was before crash helmets were compulsory, and I seem to recall that 22 of the 24 fatalities were riding 2-wheeled vehicles and 20 of those 22 were NOT wearing crash helmets. As crash helmets are now compulsory, let’s hope that we don’t get anywhere near those totals again!
Mr Cardwell said … “There is evidence of a general disregard for proper driving behavior and a bad driving culture that must be reversed. Reversing the current trends will require the cooperation of every single road user.”
Every time I hit the streets I worry that I’ll end up seriously injured in KEMH or worse yet , in the morgue and not because of something that I have to address . It’s the hardcore and easily identifiable core group of people who are on the streets that have no regard whatsoever for law , order and civility . None at all . And it no doubt permeates into every segment and aspect of their lives to the detriment of everyone around them. But to them it’s normal behavior.
They’re not all DUI or high or even in a rush to get where they’re going. They’re just out of control all the time , 24/7 .
These are the people that need to ‘ reverse their trends ‘ , not me .
And if anyone thinks I’m referring to bike riders only they’re seriously mistaken.
There the cops go again stopping people going a little fast on
Kindley in a useless exercise, aimed at making money
not saving lives. If this is Govt’s safety crackdown
I would have to wonder about the complacent police culture.
Why are they never at congested intersections
and accident hotspots that is what I want to know.
Where were they on Cavendish today when a maniac
on a bike overtook a car up hill then a bus …
and by Baileys Bay when a speeding car overtook several??
Sigh…
I have just one question Mr Police Commissioner and Mr Road Safety Council
Why don’t our paid Officers deal with third lane traffic especially on Front Street.
This is a greater part of our accidents and it needs to be dealt with something that was a target but now seems to be a just let them do as they wish.
It’s a New Year 2 lives lost so lets get the traffic under control from jump.
Its time for the Police to start and stay on the wrong doings of the motoring public daily.
Third laners on Front Street when the traffic is barely moving isn’t the issue. It’s the brain-dead morons who over and undertake at 60+ on blind corners who are the real problem.
If they want to kill themselves, let them. Just don’t take any of the rest of us with them.
What is it the police are meant to do? They can’t be everywhere. That said, each and every officer should be pulling over people they see breaking the law, irrespective of whether they are on duty or not, in uniform or not, in a marked car or not, and not just concentrating on the easy stuff like not putting your foot down at a stop sign.
A third laner overtaking when traffic is barely moving appears to be what caused one of the recent accidents.
I saw a third laner on Front Street on last Friday night speeding past stationary traffic, on the wrong side of the road, and she collided with another bike turning right. Happened right in front of me.
Third laners should be banned. Won’t happen though. You can do wheelies on the sidewalk in front of a policeman and nothing will happen.
A pregnant lady walked across my car in stuck traffic on Front St at 520pm the other day, and almost got her clock cleaned by a 3rd-laner bike peezing along from behind me. People really do need to focus and take their time.
I bet she was walking between the cars and NOT at the traffic lights were she should be.
Either way, bike rider should be aware of their surroundings.
Yes, pedestrians need to be wiser when it comes to navigating traffic.
yep. very foolish. The sun had already set too, and a cross-walk was 30 ft away.
it is against the law and an offence for a pedestrian to cross NOT on the crosswalk. In reality idiots like this pedestrian cause more accidents than the bikes who are 3rd laning.
By the way, education here for you lot. Recent studies proved 3rd laning was safe, effective, moreso than otherwise. Thank you.
What “recent studies” showed that “3rd laning was safe”.
This I’ve got to see.
Sounds like a croc, but feel free to prove it.
Bermuda is not the only place where third laning is the norm. It seems that many places where bikes are the most common form of transport third laning, or general disregard for road rules, is practiced by bikers.
Not so in North America. For the past 8 years I have been doing something between 15,000 & 20,000 miles each year. Every state. Every Province. In & around most every major city.
I have yet to see somebody on a bike use the ’3rd lane’. Why? Well it is illegal for a start & the cops take traffic infractions, even minor ones, seriously.
There is no fear of being put before the courts when it comes to driving offences. How many people do we see day in day out on their phones? Third lane, speeding, using the wrong lanes at roundabouts, pulling out in front of vehicles at junctions, failing to stop at stop signs. Zero tolerance is required. We need named driver policies when it comes to insurance and go after the owner (hopefully the rider/driver) when it comes to bad driving practices. Enforcement cannot solve the problem in full however it can go a long way to making a change in the general mindset.
how about cops using phones while driving?! Perhaps they should set an example and follow the laws that they’re supposed to enforce!!
As a start, every single police vehicle, including the unmarked vehicles, should be equipped with dash cams.
Cameras everywhere would stop a lot of this. Also put number plate licenses on the front of bikes somehow.
I agree with this. Larger bike number plates, and plates on the front as well.
are you joking? the rest of the planet laughs at our country for having two plates on CARS! you want them on bikes?!?!?!?!?!
Don’t know about countrys of the world but MOST US states have plates on the front of cars. They are not required by a few. Chances of reading a front plate when meeting at 50mph are slim.
My vehicle has been missing its front plate for at least 4 years, mangled in a towing incident, & never been questioned about it. The state is issuing new plates this year so I guess I’ll have a front tag again.
Years ago bikes over 50cc WERE required to have a front plate. Most times they were on the side of the front fender. Useless to see. One of those stupid TCD requirements at the time.
The chances of a camera reading a front plate are high.
Why wouldn’t we just do it? It’s almost cost-free. It might help.
And get rid of the “locks’ obscuring the plate on bikes….
It’s not the lack of a 2nd license plate that makes these out of control idiots drive the way they do .
It’s their complete lack of respect for any laws . Another plate up front will achieve nothing.
More / larger plates might make identifying them easier. A front plate might also be readable by cameras.
At the moment the usual description is “a person in dark clothing on a bike” or something similarly useless.
The main problem it the police are nowhere to be seen….Years ago when I rode my mobylette with my pancake muffler, I was stopped 3 times on front street in one night.. I used to ride in fear as the police were everywhere, and they eventually took my bike.. They need to reinstate the cycle squad and be monitoring the roads 24-7 with stiffer fines….I had some fool flash past me the other evening in Hamilton doing 75K plus and he ran the red light we approached only to have a Police car on the road side who witnessed this and did nothing.. Go figure…. useless, Get out and do your job..
I concur. I witness bad behaviour on the roads from early morning to early evening which is unchecked because there is simply no police enforcement.People speed at will, text, talk and run red lights and there are no consequences, except when someone gets killed or injured. Some of these vehicles are government and large commercial vehicles that are exhibiting some of the worse behaviour!
I often see Belco, Telco, W&E vehicles etc. on the roads with drivers that are not wearing seat belts, are talking or texting on their phones and driving dangerously. It also shocks me how many cars and bikes are on the roads in the pre dawn and post sunset hours without lights on. This is particularly dangerous when we have so many blind drive ways and side roads where people rely on roadside mirrors to see oncoming traffic, which you simply cannot see during these twilight hours if they don’t have their lights on.
Botom line is that this government and the police need to stop appealing for drivers to use common sense, which is kind of an oxymoron, and start aggressively enforcing traffic rules.
when I lived there back in 1966-67 the speed limit was 20. Have they raised it. But like all young kids we speed an put gears in our cyrus motor bikes. I don’t remember people dieing
And we could ‘tow’ then too. Mind you after we finished messing with the bike to make it faster it had zero power so the girlfriend had to get off & walk up hills.
We were killing ourselves on the roads too. The difference was that the police were respected, feared even. The cycle squad was a force to be reckoned with.
Ok so I am listening to the news, coming home this evening, ( all about road safety) driving down east broadway, a bike passes me on the inside, then cuts across the front of my car and passes the car in front of me, by squeezing down the so called third lane….both I and the car in the other lane, brake, to accommodate this cyclists awesomely stupid move…really??? Third lane is an issue…..little kids on the back of bikes, their little legs sticking out, while proud papa weaves in and out of the traffic using the third lane….do you not know that your kids feet are inches away from getting squashed….cut it out!
Exactly- Today’s action on Kindley just reinforces
cops and Govt just dont get it. All the focus here
is on radar guns and speed traps in the same old tired places, never enforcement of road safety. In the US radar is reserved for highways,
elsewhere there are always cops in cars scanning licence plates for offenders, warrants etc or checking to see people
are not overtaking on double yellows…
they do their job. Premier and cops are
shocked at what is going on…why?
If they had been pulling people over all this time (not a crackdown)for failing to stop, dangerous overtaking, etc, had zero tolerance
for drink driving,we would not be where we are.
Won’t ever learn will they. Same old book people for speeding to deal with poor drivers having all the accidents. Not the brightest bunch the police are they! It was only recently they were bragging about their STEP program and how effective it would be. Probably did great making revenue for government but obviously did nothing for road safety!
A big problem is the sheer difficulty of Policig our roads . If a bike comes flying by a Police car in the opposite direction by the time the Police turn around their huge jeeps the culprit would be long gone. I have seen it happen right in front of me, yes we need more motorcycle cops but we also can’t blame everything on the Police. Put yourself in their shoes .
Back in the day there would have been other police in another car down the road to pull them over. Now police are few and far between.
Seems to be a macho thing to drive fast and pass slower vehicles anywhere, anytime. Just remember smashing your body into a wall, a vehicle, another bike is stupid.
If they stopped everyone for speeding and driving without due care and attention, they would also find some more interesting stuff besides … hate to generalise, but it could be true.
Also, if only these lunatics understood what mayhem cost it causes to all the professionals that have to look after them, pushing all our healthcare costs up (IF they are insured, which most are not) …
That brings me to another issue – how can people be allowed to licence a bike or car, if they do not have health insurance. It should be the law, but it is not.
Get the police on the roads to STOP people and enforce the punishments. If no one was speeding, drunk or stoned, the accidents rates would plummet. The roads are not dangerous, the drivers are. Simple.
You watch shows like “Cops” & “Bait Car” too do you. Amazing how often a simple traffic stop for something as mundane as a burnt out brake light turns up all kinds of good stuff.
No reason to think the contents of Bermuda cars would be any different.
Every day I see people riding like a bat out of hell, overtaking irregardless of the speed the traffic is doing. Others going through red lights, stop signs, passing on the left etc. I am shocked that we do not get at least one road fatality every day of the year. The first thing that should be done is make it illegal to overtake period and enforce it. My condolences to all the families that have lost loved ones to road fatalities.
While we are at it lets all stop running the red light. It was bad enough running Amber but so many people run red now. Sad.
Maybe a minor thing to most, but why can we not make a left turn on a red light, provded we stop & give way to any traffic that has the green.
Works well everywhere else. Driving on the right a right turn is permitted on red, after stopping, provided signage does not indicate otherwise.
Check it indicate left or right. Check it cellphone check it people stop short check it we all speed check it people pull out with out lookin
check it pull chase check it mirror or broken mirror check it hit and run check it police doing 120k up and down check it radar! I wasn’t speeding. Check it that aint mines check it phone call or text with kids check it every day s…! Check it out
The present driving culture starts with a very lax (lax by international standards) driver’s test. The driver’s test should be brought up to international standards and those convicted of bad driving, speeding, etc should be required to re-take the tougher examination.
By way of example, the UK driver’s test for cars pass rate for the theory section was 50.5% in the period Jan – Mar 2014, and 46.9% for the road test – it would be interesting to compare this with Bermuda’s test results…..
I do wish that people would stop blaming the Police for the faults of others. The Police don’t make you speed, or drink, or take drugs, or fire guns, or steal, or anything else: those decisions are yours, and yours alone, so stop passing the buck and accept responsibility for your own actions!
eliminate the so called third lane…make it illegal to pass….more traffic lights……look at the Paget stop light in the morning if you are at the light and heading West there is a solid line of bikes facing you in your lane just waiting to race ahead of the light…..you will never stop someone from having a drink or taking some form of drug and getting on a bike however the third lane is just as dangerous for traffic coming the other way….take away licenses and have people take public transportation if they use the excuse they need it for work….hard to stop someone from committing this form of suicide because they feel invincible.
Navin Johnson,,, have a quick read of the Road Traffic Act.. I think you will find that passing a vehicle stopped at a red light\stop sign is illegal (allong with crossing the double white lines on Harbour Road) but is just never enforced!!
Oh, and passing on the inside is a no-no wether stopped or not
May be the police should slow down.
Crash helmets do not save lives as all who died recently were wearing helmets, in many instances the helmet can be the cause, through restricted vision and hearing, at night it is compounded not to mention the added weight and wind resistance.
In the State of Florida there is no helmet law for that reason.
The condition of our roads are not something that we can be proud of.
The motoring public pay out millions with nothing to show for it.
Are the people venting their anger ?
Is it a no care attitude?
Are there to many traffic laws?
Is Bermuda policing becoming a dictatorship ?
Should the Police Service control or guide the public?
Is policing a revenue business ?
Its time for us to stop blaming ‘that nasty stretch of road’ or ‘that dangerous bend’. There are many many awful drivers in Bermuda who simply don’t have a clue. They shouldn’t be on the road, and one wonders how they ever passed the test.
The only place I have ever seen more irresponsible and dangerous drivers is Paris. They of course are legendary.
why don’t we all start doing something about idiot drivers?
Take numbers call police and report. If we all start doing this it might just catch the attention of the police. I have also seen bus drivers, & heavy truck drivers speeding & driving reckless. Time to name and shame.
It appears there are a lot of idiots on the roads in BDA today!! They are speeding – driving intoxicated and driving recklessly!! If they want to kill themselves – then that is their business – BUT where is the protection for ALL the other road users – who are the innocent victims of these idiots??
Some of these selfish and stupid people need to be “jailed” until they get the message!!!
To be honest how bermudians ride is part of our culture. Yes, it sometimes can be dangerous. However, with our speed limit in order to get places we would have to leave way earlier to make it somewhere else on time. For those who say 3rd lane should be banded… Well, it isnt legal. RIP to those lives that have been lost.
Serz!!! Thanks for being honest because to the rest of us, we believe that leaving way earlier is better than playing the odds and loosing your life but you’re attitude is what is at the crux of the problem.
So I ask you…….. what would it take for you to slow down? To change your culture and stop driving dangerously because you hold the key to the problem.
Again….. thanks for being honest.
the problem on our roads is:
STUPIDITY
Stupid people almost kill me every day I am on the road, no joke. I have a near death story almost every single day. I had three so far this week!!!!!!!
Some moron in a Lancer sedan sped like 40mph and overtook BETWEEN me and a tourist and his wife – third laning in A CAR – over the rumblestrips on eastbroadway so he could beat us both past it.
The moron almost killed me, pushing my bike with his car almost entirely off the side of the road.!!!!!!!!!! where were the police or cameras working then! he sped off like a maniac after!
ridiculous! a purple i think lancer sedan!
moron!!!!!!!!!
Why do we have the lax enforcement we have today????? There’s a reason: Tighter policing of traffic infractions stopped after the Pitt Report found that it was widely perceived that young black men were disproportionately targeted and this was contributing to the sense of injustice in the black community.
We need random sobriety checks, draconian drink-driving penalties, and seriously terrifying road safety education for teenagers such as graphic photographs and visits from seriously injured people with amputated limbs, brain damage, paralysis, and disfigurement.
As for CADA they need to check themselves.Instead of carrying out their mandate, they are spending money on little signs reading ‘CADA’. That’s not a message to the public it’s a logo which is completely meaningless to most people. Infuriating waste of money. If they were doing their job the organisation itself would be invisible, but their message would be everywhere.
Nothing to disagree with here.
Just want to point out that the graphic stuff has already been tried.
No effect at all.
Today I rode through this accident site twice and there was still lunacy on display everywhere .
Also your opening paragraph is what is really at the root of why we are where we are now .
I’d be willing to bet that 85% of the posters on this article screaming for enforcement and penalties would all be howling when their children and them started getting stopped.
And you know well what the first thing is that they’d blame it on.
*It is why we are where we now are*
Obviously the penalties that are enforced at the moment are not a deterrent and personal time is more important to people than money so may I make a suggestion that when someone gets found guilty of speeding or driving without due care and attention or DUI they not only get fined, have their licence suspended/points deducted but they are also required to retake their Bermuda driving test including the written test before getting their licence back? This will not only be a burden on their personal time and a bit of an embarrassment for them at TCD, but will also re-enforce the rules of the road which obviously they have forgotten!
If people think they can getaway with breaking the rules, they will.
Unfortunately, I rarely see anyone being pulled over for speeding, talking on phones, dangerous driving etc. Back in the 80′s if you did anything above 42kph, the police appeared out of no where to ticket you, no exceptions. Now, we get a smiley face on the speed tracker doing 49kph out of Hamilton. What is up with that?
It’s pretty simple, if you let us loose in the candy store, we’re going to eat the candy. No repercussions, why bother doing the speed limit. One NY’s Eve my resolution was to never exceed 50kph – which I still try to adhere to – sadly people tailgate, overtake and look annoyed as apparently I drive too slow.
Defensive driving classes taught in Drivers Education in the US are excellent. They teach you how to anticipate errors other drivers may make, handle road conditions, etc. Here, our children turn 16, after a few simple classes, they hop on their bikes and off they go. Ask the younger generation what the speed limit is, most don’t even know. Not to mention, they watch and learn bad habits from those already on the road. They don’t even think they are doing anything wrong. Driving like a video game – like they have multiple lives. Beyond frustrating and sad.
More traffic enforcement would be a wise investment considering the major impact it would have on people’s lives. We are spending how much towards policing the gang violence? Traffic accidents seem to be causing much more damage in death and injuries, not to mention the innocent drivers who the offenders may crash in to – leaving those drivers to live with it for the rest of their lives and families to grieve.
Humans need rules. Rules that are enforced. It is just our nature.
IMO there is no one cause though idiotic drivers top the list. Bermudians may not be the worst drivers in the world but they would give the worst a good run for the money. Courtesy & consideration are two completely unknown words on the road.
The BPS are not doing their job, prefering to do the easy stuff like setting up speed traps at places like Kindley Field road where it is safe to drive faster than the set speed limit. Get out there & book the dangerous & due care drivers.
The courts are at fault. The fines, especially for the frequent repeat offenders, are nowhere near high enough.
The roads are at fault. They are not engineered correctly. Nothing much has changed on corners, & the roads have been neglected for years. Now they are full of potholes & improperly covered trenches waiting to snag bikers.
The vehicles that we drive are at fault. Look at the size of the vehicles that we were driving 30-40 years ago. Look at what is on the road today. Have we as humans grown bigger? Even the small car has more room in it than the larger car of yesteryear.
So much can be done but there is so little will to do it.
There are about 10,000 or so drivers on our roads ,for them it is virtually impossible to drive our modern day vehicles with in the legal speed limit.
I guess that you will be seeing us all in court on Monday morning.
If you ask what is the speed limit that depends on who you ask, most likely the answer will come back ” What ever “.
The idea of one speed fits all road conditions is not very practical as every corner is subject to its own Safe Speed ,there are limitations, time of day , controls what is deemed to be a Safe Speed, night driving in the rain on a road full of pot holes has an affect on speed.
let me say that there are hundreds of driving parameters that come into play, far to numerous to list here, there are limitations, even under the best of conditions , you are at risk ,all it takes is a micro second.
However, there is one controlling factor which should be a guide line for us all and that is the hope of arriving at our destination safely regardless of the conditions.
It is all about a drivers ability to be in control and manage risk.
We need to have the conversation.
We all are so very lucky to live in a beautiful country, enjoy it, don’t spoil it.
Then you have those nasty drivers who do spitefull things on the road like intentionally speed up when a bike is overtaking. Experienced this way too many times. It’s plain evil
We have a major problem with messaging when it comes to road safety in Bermuda.
It starts with a lack of depth of knowledge required to pass our driving tests. I wonder how many Bermudians know that when there is a yellow box in the road (like the one on Church Street in front of the bus stop), they should not enter in unless they can safely exit it without stopping? This is just one example.
However, the real messaging problem comes with our outdated speed limit.
Officially our speed limit is 22 mph or 35.2 kph. Yet absolutely no one drives at that speed. The generally accepted speed limit (i.e. the speed you can travel at without being ticketed) is around 50 kph, depending on whether the traffic cop is having an off day or if their senior officer has told them they need to increase their ticketing revenue.
The problem is that we are telling our drivers that it is okay to break the speed limit, but just not by too much. This messaging translates to “it’s okay to break the rules of the road, but just not by too much”. So a nip here, a nip there, creating a third lane (or even a fourth lane on East Broadway) is okay, just don’t do it too much. This mindset extends to drinking and driving – it’s okay, just don’t do it too much.
But what’s too much? If traffic cops are not around those boundaries get stretched. Our drivers are like like little children who have not had their boundaries and expectations appropriately set. This means our traffic laws eventually only become observed when the law is around. This is why we have a “Wild West” approach on our roads.
Our government needs to set clear and firm boundaries and expectations. The speed limit of 45/50 kph or whatever is socially and safely acceptable is enshrined in law and is not wavered from. Our laws become firm. If you overstep them you get punished. Pure and simple. Adults are just big kids. If they do not have a solid grasp on the boundaries, they will push them.
Let’s make our roads safe. Let’s set firm expectations and boundaries that make it easier for our drivers to understand the rules and much easier for our Police force and Judiciary to administer them.