Mutually Incompatible

I have a lot of respect for Road Safety Council chairman Joseph Froncioni. But his opposition to raising Bermuda’s speed limit to 50 kph is in direct conflict with his desire for greater use of speed cameras.

His argument against raising the speed limit rests on the premise that people like to push the envelope, and if the limit was set at 50 kph, people would drive at 65.

In principle, I agree, but this isn’t the whole story. People will only push the envelope if, one, they believe it’s safe to do so, and two, they don’t expect to get caught.

Try driving at 65 kph on some of Bermuda’s roads and you’ll end up in a ditch. This ought to act as an effective deterrent for most drivers.

In places where this natural restriction doesn’t exist, place an automated speed camera. Dr. Froncioni has called for greater use of these devices, but given his insistence that the speed limit should be maintained at its current level, presumably he believes these should be set to catch anyone travelling over 35 kph.

However, implementing cameras with a threshold this low would be impossible: it would cause an outcry. Set it any higher, though, and you’re effectively setting a new speed limit. The political difficulty in determining this threshold may be one reason why speed cameras still haven’t been introduced.

By advocating two politically incompatible positions, Dr. Froncioni isn’t helping his cause.

Comments

[Tiger Bay on 13.11.04 at 18:48]

Research from other countries has shown that if you raise the speed limits, the acceptable speeding limits jump as well.

The question is why Bermuda, which has so many police and so few roads, will not enforce the traffic laws.

Blaming it on the Governor is hardly a sign of engaged public leadership. Or maybe that's the true "part of Bermuda culture".

[The Limey on 13.11.04 at 21:31]

So, Tiger Bay, presumably you support enforcing a 35 kph limit too?

[Graeme Outerbridge on 14.11.04 at 11:02]

There should not be any speed limit....and it should be re named Bermuda Birth control...sort of like what hand guns are used for in the USA.

[Tiger Bay on 14.11.04 at 13:38]

The 35 kph has been obsolete for 20 years; the police have been ticketing at 50 kph for that long.

I think the speed limit should be raised to 45 - and rigidly enforced at that level.

All efforts would need to be expended to make sure speeds did not creep up further.

[Eddie. on 17.11.04 at 20:09]

I think I speed at about the same rate as Mr Average,more according to my wife!
However, I would endorse some means of keeping the maximum speed on the Island to 35k - (including Police vehicles and Ambulances).Can you imagine the drop in damage to life,limb and property that would result.
Is it possible and is there any merit in having all vehicles fitted with a speed limiting governor.

[Tiger Bay on 21.02.05 at 08:49]

There's a story on AP about the District of Columbia's use of radar cameras for automated traffic ticketing against speeders and running red lights.

Since the 70 cameras were put into place, traffic fatalities have dropped to their lowest rate in 18 years.

At the outset, police say that 25 percent of the cars it monitored were "aggressively speeding". That figure has since dropped to less than 3 percent. Last year the cameras issued 400,000 tickets worth nearly $30 million in fines.

Seems like worthy results to me. Why the foot dragging here?