Slow thinking

HAS Chief Constable Anthony Bangham thought through his proposal to fine everyone who exceeds the speed limit by even one mile per hour (Mail)?

He will need to ensure he can prove all speed cameras have been properly calibrated and remain so; that speedometers in vehicles are correct; and speed limit signs are clearly displayed. He will need to be able to answer the defendant’s claim they were observing the speed limit according to their speedometer. I am sure lawyers will soon find other arguments to defeat the imposition of such a precise limit.

If Mr Bangham would like to improve road safety, he needs only to put officers at every set of traffic lights and they will observe many drivers ignoring red lights, some while using their mobiles.

GRAHAM HAYES, Rushden, Northants. WHO will police the strict speed limit? I live in a 20 mph area and drivers are often seen travelling at 40 mph. Police tell me they only have one speed gun in the town and that needs to be calibrated.

KEVIN PLATT, Walsall, W. Mids. THERE are no fixed speed cameras in my country town, so every now and again a man on a motorbike turns up at one of three places to start ‘cash collecting’.

He parks in a bus stop on a 30mph road; on the pavement on a hill because of double yellow lines; or by a pedestrian crossing on a long, straight road. None of these are accident black-spots, but all seem to have been selected to maximise revenue. During bad weather when it’s dangerous to speed, or after dark when the boy racers come out, he’s nowhere to be seen. PAUL GINNIFER, Yeovil, Somerset.