Slow down to think about action (From Bournemouth Echo)

Slow down to think about action

9:00am Tuesday 27th July 2010 in

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IT WAS a fair cop and a very embarrassing one at that.

Barely 12 hours after chairing a meeting about the Echo supporting a road safety campaign aiming to cut the number of young drivers speeding recklessly on the roads of Dorset, I proceeded to set a very poor example by exceeding the speed limit myself.

Even more embarrassingly, it came a few days after writing a hard-hitting leader column about the subject of speeding.

When I received notification that I had been copped by a speed camera – on deserted roads at 4.45 in the morning on the way to work I hasten to add – I was going to detail all the excuses for travelling over the proscribed speed limit.

I then spotted on the Your Questions Answered sheet that they were the same lame ones used by most drivers.

Of course, I fully accepted my punishment and felt suitably angry at myself for besmirching a good driving record and setting myself up for a good deal of finger pointing at work.

Almost 20 years after the first speed camera prosecution, it is possible that we could soon be bidding a not-so-fond farewell to the things as government spending cuts force financial rethinks.

Would we miss them? Hardly.

But will their disappearance herald a new era of road safety? Not a chance.