Drivers who “used road like a race track” at speeds up to 100mph jailed after cyclist left with broken neck

Of course they shouldn't.  

You could solve the energy crisis by harnessing all the driver wailing, gnashing of teeth and general crying if you suggest a more stringent approach, or even just better enforcement of existing rules. 

I doubt the current govt has any appetite, though, "the white van must get through" seems to be the attitude. 

Someone I know has a lifetime driving ban and has never been behind a wheel.

If a medical condition can get someone a ban on the chance they might cause an accident then surely having the mind of a dangerous driver who does cause accidents should too.

"He is a hard-working man who is a credit to his family. His character is exemplary."

Somebody could close pass cyclists every day and the police would ignore all reports and there would be no record of the behaviour- so after he eventually kills one, 'he came out of nowhere', 'I didn't stand a chance', 'the sun was in my eyes so I had to put my foot down to get out of danger' etc. etc., his shyster lawyer will make the statement above along with claiming the driver was 'relatively inexperienced'. Another joke community penalty for killing with a car.

That would be an attack on basic human rights.
And also an anti growth policy.

An attack on basic human rights isn't incompatible with making stacks of money and thereby purchase earn the gratitude of politicians though...

I think the problem is the "who has to pay for 'the spy in the car'"?  When the spying is centralised it comes quietly from taxes.  I imagine that includes GATSO.  When it's hidden under "free lunch" (e.g. all social media) it can be funded by the advertisers / spymasters.  The problem here is presumably anyone introducing such a measure would want the manufacturers to fit it.  They'd obviously pass the cost on to the buyers - who don't want to pay for "interfering in my affairs"!

levestane wrote:

Given the amount of tech we have why can cars not be automatically stopped from exceeding speed limits?

Did a quick search and this is from confused.com. It's not perfect but it's an encouraging start.

Speed limiters are mandatory in all new cars, and have been since 6 July 2022. 

It is possible to switch off your speed limiter device. However you cannot permanently disable it - the next time you switch on the engine the speed limiter will be switched on again.

However, even when the speed limiter is on, there are some circumstances when you can override it. An example of this is if you’re overtaking on a road where there’s a decrease in speed limit. 

After alerting you, the car should automatically start to slow down. By pushing down hard on the accelerator, you can override the system and complete the manoeuvre safely.

If you stay above the speed limit, the system should sound a warning and display a visual alert. The alerts remain on until the driver is within the speed limit.

This is encouraging. I guess as self-driving technology become better developed, and maybe mandatory as well, then reckless behaviour will be more difficult.

It's also part of that new EU regulation (ratified by the UK) that all cars also are fitted with data logging and there are supposedly plans to share this information with insurers so they can penalise drivers for excessive speeds.

NOtotheEU wrote:

levestane wrote:

Given the amount of tech we have why can cars not be automatically stopped from exceeding speed limits?

Did a quick search and this is from confused.com. It's not perfect but it's an encouraging start.

Speed limiters are mandatory in all new cars, and have been since 6 July 2022. 

I'm shocked that the UK freedom fighters had restricted our rights to drive stupidly in such a flagrant manner. But then I found this:

"If you buy a new car today, there’s a strong chance it will have a system called Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), often referred to as a speed limiter. This is because legislation from the European Union dictates that all cars newly launched from 6 July 2022 must have Intelligent Speed Assistance."

Cleary Misstrusst will repeal that as soon as possible, damn EU redtape putting our costs up.

Legin wrote:

I'm shocked that the UK freedom fighters had restricted our rights to drive stupidly in such a flagrant manner. But then I found this:

"If you buy a new car today, there’s a strong chance it will have a system called Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), often referred to as a speed limiter. This is because legislation from the European Union dictates that all cars newly launched from 6 July 2022 must have Intelligent Speed Assistance."

Cleary Misstrusst will repeal that as soon as possible, damn EU redtape putting our costs up.

At least passive ISA would just mean that freedom lovers (i.e. speeding drivers) have to ignore the ping/beep/voice warning them that they're going too fast. It's only active ISA that would limit speed.

At least the 'freedom drivers' won't have the (admittedly feeble) defence that they'd unwittingly crept over the limit n a moment of distraction. Not much progress, but something I suppose.

pockstone wrote:

At least the 'freedom drivers' won't have the (admittedly feeble) defence that they'd unwittingly crept over the limit n a moment of distraction. Not much progress, but something I suppose.

Unless they claim that their music system was too loud for them to hear the ISA

You've met the people who park at the side of me, then?

That poor child of theirs.  Every time - thump, thump, thump. 

"Timmy's hearing test threw up a couple of things"

It unfortunately can be defeated by pressing down on the noisy pedal.

Which is pretty much the way speed limits have always been overcome.

It would be nothing more than an OTA software update on most modern cars.

Do you believe not having a driving licence, would prevent those two ever driving again ?

Awavey wrote:

Do you believe not having a driving licence, would prevent those two ever driving again ?

No I don't but I would also advocate that anyone caught driving whilst banned be locked away for a very long time as they clearly represent a danger to society.

Do you believe that speed limits stop people from speeding? They don't but they still serve an important purpose.

Every episode of Police Motorway Interceptor Cops, there will be some person pulled over and charged for drink driving or drug driving or extreme speeding, usually while having no licence or insurance and/or while actively disqualified from driving. They practically never get jail - almost always get a fine and, er, a driving ban. Personally I think they should put together a special episode where they track how many times and how often the same person gets fined-and-banned...

It must be extremely frustrating for the officers involved, often in dangerous pursuits.

Every episode of Police Motorway Interceptor Cops...

I have seen few of these for more than a few seconds, because I know how the real police operate when they're not on a TV hagiography, but those were all ancient episodes. You can tell from the police number plates- they're always in new cars. The hilarious bits are where the officers take a lack of MOT, insurance or VED to be an offence. That's the trouble with this 'reality' junk TV- it's nothing like real life.

The last two sentences certainly seem to indicate that you can treat the road as a race track as long as 

a) you are driving within your capabilities

b) you have thought about other vulnerable road users first

I'm sure Detective Constable Mark Furse is a capable police officer, but I think he needs more training on what to say to the media...