Comment #3

This comment is in response to this entry.

[http://c-beingbad.blogspot.com/2008/03/speeding.html]

I found this part of your entry very interesting:

Why do people find it so difficult to stick to the speed limit? Do speeders think that they’re bigger, better and cleverer than the rest of society? That someone wont step out in front of their car. They they’re such good drivers they can navigate through built up areas full of houses, shops and people at 50mph and not cause any damage?

It's quite difficult to say why some people speed. I'm a driver myself and I rarely go one or two mph over the speed limit (sometimes it is difficult not to - there's a fine line between just going over the limit and actually holding up traffic). However I have friends who do speed a lot, and as a passenger it makes me not want to travel with them because it's a bit scary. I know how easy it can be to lose control - your reactions are not as fast as you think they are!

Aside from speed demons, and the various reasons you might have for speeding, the one I find the most frustrating as a road-user myself are (forgive the stereotyping here), the middle aged men in mercedes and BMWs, who think that getting home that 20 seconds earlier is a just cause for breaking the law. I have a tiny car, and I don't look very imposing either, and so these men most often take advantage and do ridiculous things like overtake you on corners, or overtake on exit sliproads. I understand overtaking on the entry sliproad to the motorway - if it's a busy day then you can make a lot of progress by getting ahead of slower traffic - but not the other way around - it does not save any time at all, and causes a lot of traffic to slam on the breaks due to their speeding to overtake successfully. They pressure you to drive faster and speed yourself by tail-gating - it can be quite frightening.

Speeding is selfish and dangerous. It affects all other road-users as well as pedestrians. (As a college student I once used a zebra crossing only to find a pensioner ACCELERATE to force me out of his way). I think it is one of the worst things you can do as a motorists, and it leads to aggressive driving and road-rage.

I very much liked your post. You have made me think a lot about speeding as 'bad behaviour'.