British columnist Jeremy Clarkson has written an interesting piece on speeding — specifically on his country’s fixation with speed as a focal point of all road safety. Clarkson’s Sunday Times article articulately expresses what most car enthusiasts probably feel about speeding and road safety.
Clarkson says targeting speeding is easy, but in order to really make roads safer people should change how they drive, not how fast. He tells the story of a Renault trying to get through rush hour traffic. “Through the blur of the wipers I could see the tail-lights dissolving into impenetrable spray for mile after interminable mile. Trying to overtake the car in front, then, was completely pointless,” writes Clarkson. “But that didn’t stop our friend in the Renault from trying. He was glued to the van in front of him, veering from side to side and braking every few seconds as the gap narrowed from a foot to three or four inches. [...] At no point … did he ever exceed 60.”
“It’s rare that I call for balance,” concludes Clarkson. “But that’s what we need in the debate on road safety.”
