Muddled arguments on speed and taxation (2)

As Yogi Berra said: "It's deja vu all over again". Every time there is some sort of change in this country there are so many gripers on opposite camps. I'm just waiting for someone to attach some past political clash over the new 60km speed limit and that will open another can of worms.

Speed doesn't kill. It's the abuse of speed that does. If one had a 3km or more straight road, no potholes, and no traffic coming from side roads, driving at a posted speed limit of 120 km/h would be safe - of course, under ideal conditions. That is: good visibility, dry road surface, well-maintained car driven by a sober, alert and experienced driver, combined with other traffic that is doing the same.

Take the same road and change conditions even slightly, that safe speed limit becomes dangerous. It's not the speed that does it but the driver. It can turn out that even the 60 km/h will be dangerous.

I won't comment on the new speed limit. One suspects that the irresponsible drivers who used to crawl in the fast lane, and were probably the cause of a number of accidents, are now still there and going slower. Keep the cameras if you must. Drivers know where they are and slow down to avoid fines. That will not make them more responsible or safer. What we need are hand-held radar guns. Roads can then be patrolled at different and random areas. Both speeding and fast-lane crawler drivers can be ticketed. As a bonus, patrol the side streets. There must be more culprits there than on the major roads to keep those radar guns happy.