Some British motorists don't know their limits

Motorists are quite used to government and police warnings about the dangers of exceeding the national speed limit. However, it would seem that the message needs further reinforcement as people continue to be pulled over for driving too fast.

An interesting report by one of the UK's leading car insurance providers has placed doubt over whether the law-breakers have a need for speed. It suggests that many people are quite oblivious as to the need to slow down in different environments.

These findings seem to support calls for a more extensive driver training programme, covering rural roads, urbanised areas and even motorways. A case could also be made for the inclusion of more speed-related questions as part of the driving test.

My personal experience of this issue goes back to a driving test failure, caused by an inability to stick to the speed limit. It is questionable whether this had more to do with nervousness or the instructor’s omission of important details about the test route.

In any case the minor set back can be seen as something of a blessing in disguise. It meant that I went away and swatted up, instead of becoming one of the seventy per cent of people who don't know which speeds apply to which roads. Yes you read it right, seventy per cent!

One can't help but agreeing with the car insurance expert who said, “It is alarming that so many motorists cannot correctly identify the legal speed limit on UK roads when tested.

“The police data shows that more speeding motorists are being caught each year and drivers should take care to know their limits to avoid a fine, penalty points or worse.”

Labels: car insurance, driver training, driving test, law, motorists, motorways, national speed limit, rural roads