When police patrolled

[MikeF]

http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1936/jun/11/speed-limit-prosecutions#S5CV0313P0_19360611_HOC_47
Over 45,000 prosecutions for speeding in the year 1935/36 in just in a small area of the country https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Police_District and with relatively few motor vehicles compared with today. I wonder how that would scale today? According to the RAC http://www.racfoundation.org/motoring-faqs/enforcement there were 711,739 speeding fixed penalty notices in 2013, presumably in the UK.

Edit to add In 2014, the number of drivers that opted for a National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS) speed awareness course rather than accept penalty points on their driving licence was 1,185,860.

[ANTONISH]

This was of course before speed cameras.
Of course the lament then was "Police officers having nothing better to do than persecute innocent/law abiding motorists"

[Bigdummysteve]

If speeding was the only cause of accidents then cameras would be relevant, but of course it's not they don't catch drunk, reckless or inconsiderate drivers. Coupled with GPS units showing where fixed cameras are located they are most likely to catch tourists anyway. Average speed cameras work, so much so that they generate much less 'income' that perhaps they are not cost effective. My biggest complaint about speed cameras is where they are located, we have one in Banbury which is located where a 40mph zone drops into 30'as it goes down a hill. Clearly located to generate as much income as possible from drivers who inadvertently speed up slightly down the hill. Granted a driver should be in control of his vehicals speed at all times,no more than 300yds around the corner is a busy road which is full of kids at schoool times. At 9am and 3 pm I drive around 20 mph along this road, many others don't. A camera here would be fully justified and actually contribute to road safety.
If the government were serious they could introduce GPS speed controllers on vehicals, simple technology. In my opinion more insurance companies should insist on GPS technology for younger drivers as a method of weeding out the reckless.

[rmurphy195]

If speeding was the only cause of accidents then cameras would be relevant, but of course it's not they don't catch drunk, reckless or inconsiderate drivers.

Or, indeed, the sort of person that does this viewtopic.php?f=7&t=103433

As I've often said to my wife, there are an awful lot of people driving that simply do not have the intelligence to be allowed control of a motor vehicle.

[Bigdummysteve]

If speeding was the only cause of accidents then cameras would be relevant, but of course it's not they don't catch drunk, reckless or inconsiderate drivers.

Or, indeed, the sort of person that does this viewtopic.php?f=7&t=103433

As I've often said to my wife, there are an awful lot of people driving that simply do not have the intelligence to be allowed control of a motor vehicle.

Hmmm four hours after posting that.... Tempting fate?

[Manc33]

I remember my dad telling me the second a motorway was first opened in England, Aston Martin, Jaguar and who knows how many others were using it for top speed tests (1958).

Those were the days (he says, born 20 years after "those days"). Back when we actually had car companies.

[ANTONISH]

I remember round about 1959 there was an elderly woman dubbed "The Queen of the M1" who drove her high performance car at very high speeds - accompanied by several cats.
I'm not sure of the penalty she incurred.