Enforcing 35 kph

I’m baffled by the announcement that the police are to start ticketing anyone driving over the official speed limit of 35 kph.

In the three and a half years that I’ve been in Bermuda, the police have never done this. In fact, none of the Bermudians that I’ve spoken to can ever remember the police enforcing 35 kph. What’s prompted this sudden change of policy?

Although 35 kph is the law, and the police are entitled to strictly enforce it, by opting to enforce a 50 kph limit for so long they have created an expectation that could now be dangerous to try to reverse. 35 kph is painfully slow, and the first instinct of many drivers who get stuck behind someone driving at that speed will be to overtake them. This is likely to lead to an increase in tailgating (already the third most common cause of accidents) and risky overtaking manoeuvres. Of course, the blame for such actions would lie squarely with the driver performing them, but that's not the point when your stated goal is to reduce accidents. That’s why I have no intention of driving at 35 kph. If that means that I get a ticket, so be it.

I’d have more sympathy if this change was prompted by an increase in the number of accidents caused by people driving between 35 kph and 50 kph. But if this is the case, the police have offered no evidence to support it. The police have said that speed was a factor in “some” of the accidents so far this year, but have not said in how many, or what the speed of the vehicles involved was. I emailed the police to ask for this information earlier today, but have not yet received a reply.

Moreover, if previous crackdowns are anything to go by, it seems likely that Kindley Field Road will be one of the few spots that the police choose to monitor. It’s difficult to understand what is gained by ticketing people travelling over 35 kph on a road where they could quite safely drive at 60 kph.

However, some good may yet come out of this new policy. Hopefully it will make many people appreciate just how archaic Bermuda’s current speed limit is, and lead to pressure for it to be raised to a more sensible level. 45 kph sounds good to me.

Comments

[Marcus on 19.10.06 at 14:11]

What's probably a bigger element of the accidents is people not being able to ride properly. But of course that's a lot harder to police.

[Paradise Found on 19.10.06 at 14:13]

I remember when the Taxi drivers protested against GPS (last year?) by driving at the speed limit, holding up traffic as a result. I think a 35kph limit is pretty much unenforceable.

[Scottie on 19.10.06 at 14:21]

Speaking as a'limey' who was fined for speeding for the first time in 30 years of penalty free driving, I accept that I was driving at 55kpm and therefore culpable.
However, if the government really wanted to address the issue of speeding and road safety, they would surely introduce a cumulative penalty points system, whereby frequent speeders would, after accumulation of the prescribed number of points, lose their rights to drive for a predetermined period of time.
When I was fined $190 for 55kpm I was simply contributing to a cynical revenue generation exercise which had no bearing on encouraging safe driving behaviour.

[Curious on 19.10.06 at 14:21]

This is one way to convince people to take the ferry.

[SmokingGun on 19.10.06 at 14:39]

Curious - too funny. I can just imagine driving along and having the ferry cruise by me in a no-wake zone.;-)

[buzz on 19.10.06 at 14:51]

yeah, why 35km? That's possible more dangerous with the overtakers and tailgaters. I believe 50km is too fast, but 35km? c'mon...40-45k would be more reasonable and realistic. I just don't get it. They legislate allowing bigger cars with bigger engines, but enforce 35km? makes no sense... none of these new SUV's will ever get out of 2nd gear...theyre just screaming to be driven on a highway at 100 km as it is...

[ian on 19.10.06 at 14:59]

What about the "side saddle" teens, or talking on a cell phone etc. on a cycle? Far more dangerous than exceeding a ridiculously slow speed limit.

[SmokingGun on 19.10.06 at 15:09]

Limey is right. 35k will actually cause more dangerous driving than one might think. I try to stick to 40k and allow for the 5k creep on open straight aways. I'm going to have to put a brick underneath the gas pedal in order avoid tickets.

Hmmm.... come to think of it, maybe this is one of Burgess's hidden tax raising schemes.

[Socrates on 19.10.06 at 15:17]

If we double the speed limit then surely we will halve the congestion.

[Darkside on 19.10.06 at 15:30]

I don't think my car gets out of first gear at 35KM ... well don't blame me for the noise polution.

[sandgrownan on 19.10.06 at 15:30]

Socrates - too funny! I read a study where it's not the act of using a cellphone while driving that's dangerous, it's the act of concentrating on the conversation. It doesn't matter if you have the phone pressed to your ear or you are using it hands free. The biggest single most distracting thing in a car is your passenger. Put him or her in the trunk with the children.

[VB on 19.10.06 at 15:34]

How are they going to graciously back down on this stupid exercise? Whatever happened to the points system that Dr Accomplishment said was going to be introduced. With great fanfare he introduced it (sort of like the PGA announcement) & we should have had it long ago. Nothing! I guess the eminently sensible points system wound up on the 'forgotten' heap like so many other things the PLP 'gonna do' Government have promised.

Our spineless police service will make themselves most unpopular by enforcing a 35kph limit after they have ignored other far more serious traffic offences for so long.

Has anyone ever been booked for distracting loud noise, dazzling fog lights (in a land with no fog), extra dark tinting (so you cannot identify the driver), dangerous driving (bikes especially), due car (bikes again),traffic lights, parking & just plain inconsiderate driving?

I am glad I do not drive anywhere near the 200 business miles a week that I used to.

I'll give them a week then they will disappear back to wherever it is that they have been hiding for so long. The roads will return to normal mayhem in no time at all.

[Darkside on 19.10.06 at 15:38]

Also ... it will now take the average motorist (well the ones who go 50kph) 42% more time to get to where they are going ... talk about increasing congestion ... enforcing the speed limit will mean more cars on the road at any given time ... not exactly what I think the powers that be intended.

Well I plan to crank the stereo and enjoy my new cruising speed ... perhaps I should let the kids drive? No, no ... I know ... I'll just rig up a sail and save the gas.

[silencedogood on 19.10.06 at 15:44]

Ours is a curious nation indeed--extra cops for speeding tickets but not for crack houses or drive by shootings...

[Darkside on 19.10.06 at 15:50]

The Solution - Equip Your Golf Cart For Street Use

These are the US Federal Motor Vehicle Standard (FMVSS) for "low-speed vehicles" (Note: golf carts used in golf courses have top speed of 15-mph. Low-speed vehicles can not exceed 25 mph which is roughly 37.5 kph and will get you a ticket in BDA).

• Headlamps
• Front-and-rear turn signal lamps
• Tail lamps
• One red reflex reflector on each side as far as to the rear
• Exterior mounted mirror on driver's side
• Exterior mounted mirror on passenger's side or an interior mirror
• Parking brake
• Windshield marked "AS1" (Lexan is appropriate)
• Seat belts
• Label permanently affixed, visible to the operator when seated, which reads" WARNING" This vehicle must not be operated on the public roads at a speed more than 25-mph (for BDA we better change the sticker to 23-mph).

[Lost in Flatts on 19.10.06 at 16:26]

This new policy is an absolute joke - and yet another example of the bizarre, and completely inexplicable inefficiency of the police force. Driving at 45/50 kph is not the reason people are being killed - dangerous driving, drunk driving and driving at 75 kph is the reason. I agree with the above post, the only thing this will do is clog up the paperwork trail, knock up congestion and keep police from doing something useful.

But then, like all things Bermudian, I expect no change in reality.

[jake on 19.10.06 at 16:33]

"Put him or her in the trunk with the children."

Now THAT is funny!

[Canuck in Bermuda on 19.10.06 at 16:34]

Just for fun, and I know there's quite a few problems with these numbers but just go with it:

Let's say a bike takes up 5' of space in the line coming from the west end, and there are 1000 such bikes that normally would be passing or would have gotten into town a long time ago but haven't and are thus still on the road. The line just got 1 mile longer... I think I'm coming in early tomorrow

[stuart J Hayward on 19.10.06 at 16:36]

Hah!

All you speed mongers (or is it speed-merchants) may complain. I'm happy! I'll feel much safer on my pedalbike from people overtaking at 35kph than when they overtake at 50+. At those higher speeds, the turbulence of their passing almost blows me off my bike.

Actually, traffic can flow more smoothly at lower speeds (a fact from those fluid dynamics courses at University). The turbulence at higher speeds (including loss of control, near misses, increased (!) tendency to tailgate, increased difficulty to enter and exit the traffic stream) can increase travel time and elevate travel stress. Most of Bermuda's roads (width, curves, sightlines) become rapidly unsafe as speeds increase. And the 90 additional cars each month doesn't help.

[Pompous G Windbag III jnr. on 19.10.06 at 16:40]

Stuart - is it true you have an electric bike?

[Bermudian on 19.10.06 at 16:49]

I think we should ban cars altogether :-)

[Blue Eyed Devil on 19.10.06 at 16:51]

This is long overdue. Bermudians are awful, incompetent, very aggressive drivers. Slowing them down is at least a start. (And please remeber all you complaining about the speed they say they will be targeting bad driving also.) I tried to obey the speed limit when I first got here but I got sick of getting the crap scared out of me by people zooming up behind me then hanging on my bumper.

The thing that upsets me most about living here is the hostile road environment. If this actually happens it will make living here significantly less stressful.

[stuart J Hayward on 19.10.06 at 16:53]

I'll say this as gently as I know how:

Limey, Bermuda is very different from the places our recent (and even not so recent) immigrants grew up in. If we adopt totally your ways of looking at and doing things, then Bermuda will be just like where you came from. That may make Bermuda quite comfortable for you but will no doubt alienate us. While I don't condone hate-mongering of any sort, I'm hoping you can appreciate the building of resentment toward expatriate people who wish to promote (push, force) their cultural values (lifestyles, perceptions, expectations, aso) onto us.

Every shift from our traditions makes Bermuda a little less habitable for us "natives". We do some of it ourselves, to be sure (big cars is an example). But we'd love it if our culture, as subtle and fragile as it is, were give the same credence as Italy's Rome. You may find it somewhat hard to adjust, but YOU are the visitor — that's your job...

[stuart J Hayward on 19.10.06 at 16:56]

Pompous G Windbag III jnr. writes
Stuart - is it true you have an electric bike?

Yup.

[Pompous G Windbag III jnr. on 19.10.06 at 17:02]

Stuart - aside from making the ferries free (which probably has flat revenue impact) subsidizing electric bikes must be one of the most sensible things a govt could do (and did when i lived in Tokio).

You couldn't post a link to where you got yours from??

P

[newbie on 19.10.06 at 17:09]

What an utterly useless exercise!

The police would do better in catching the two idiots who overtook a line of traffic adjacent to the Aboreteum this morning and raced each other down the 'third lane' or perhaps booking the bikers who take toddlers, barely old enough to stand, on the front of their bikes - I have to ask, this is illegal isn't it? I see it happening so often I'm beginning to wonder.

[Darkside on 19.10.06 at 17:15]

Newbie:
Carrying small children on bikes is an issue for sure.
If they are standing on the baseboard in front they are "airbags".
If you put them on the back they tend to drift of to sleep and let go.
If you strap them into a special bike seat then they go where the bike goes ... scary.
It would be a very simple thing to enact legislation fixing a minimum age for any pillion passenger on a motorcycle ... why has this not been done?

[Andrew on 19.10.06 at 17:18]

How about an electric car that can park in a bike space, like this one:

http://www.hammacher.com/publish/10954.asp

And the $108,000 price tag will fit in well with the Louis Vuitton lifestyle here!

[jr on 19.10.06 at 17:30]

I drive a great big truck. I have time limits for the deliveries which I have to make. There is no way I can complete what is required if I have to drive at 35 K.

This will cause chaos. The police know this. Speaking with a former Cycle Cop this morning I was told that the Police want to get the publics attention, it appears to have worked for those of us who are law abiding. If the Police pursue this, I will get many tickets, hopefully my employer will pick up the cost but I doubt it. Sanity must prevail?

[Phil on 19.10.06 at 17:37]

Stuart

Limey, Bermuda is very different from the places our recent (and even not so recent) immigrants grew up in. If we adopt totally your ways of looking at and doing things, then Bermuda will be just like where you came from. That may make Bermuda quite comfortable for you but will no doubt alienate us. While I don't condone hate-mongering of any sort, I'm hoping you can appreciate the building of resentment toward expatriate people who wish to promote (push, force) their cultural values (lifestyles, perceptions, expectations, aso) onto us.

Every shift from our traditions makes Bermuda a little less habitable for us "natives". We do some of it ourselves, to be sure (big cars is an example). But we'd love it if our culture, as subtle and fragile as it is, were give the same credence as Italy's Rome. You may find it somewhat hard to adjust, but YOU are the visitor — that's your job.

I’m not sure I understand where this came from.

Are you arguing that driving at 35 kph is Bermuda’s culture? A tradition? I disagree, and know quite a few Bermudians who disagree too. In fact, some of them have been commenting on this thread.

How long has the de facto limit been 50 kph? I’m simply stating my opinion that given the length of time this has been the norm, it’s likely to be dangerous to try to suddenly force everyone to drive at 35 kph. I’m not trying make Bermuda just like where I came from or force my cultural values onto you.

I’m also surprised that you consider me a visitor here. Visitors go somewhere for a while, then go back to where they came from. I have no intention of doing that. I’m a resident, married to a Bermudian, with a Bermudian son. I have every intention of getting status in 7 years time, and feel perfectly entitled to express my opinions just as you are entitled to ignore them.

[Raptor on 19.10.06 at 17:50]

Wow, Stuart calls Limey a "visitor"! I'm surprised.

[stefan on 19.10.06 at 18:02]

As a german "visitor" (with a long-term stay permit) I'm used to the autobahn, with no limits.
And I would not even dream to "force" that on Bermuda...

But I must disagree with the point that 35kph is part of the Bermudian culture. I've only ever been in cars and buses driven by Bermudians since my arrival, and the speed they drove was definitely not 35.

In the RG article the police mentioned additional officers etc that would be deployed to enforce the speed limit. Wouldn't Bermuda need those officers taking care of some more pressing issues, like drugs, rather than police commuter X from Somerset coming down the "third lane"?

[SmokingGun on 19.10.06 at 18:15]

Stuart - I agree that to a degree slower speeds can create better flow but that can also be said for faster speeds. It all depends upon the conditions. It's also why they don't allow bicycles on high-ways.

I just think that in Bermuda setting the speed limit at 35k is a tad too low. I would propose somewhere between 40 - 45k and strictly enforce all rules of the road as well as noise, tinting, over-size cars or parts etc..

I also do question the draconian nature of the speed enforcement given that it will require a lot of police officers. We don't have enough locals so we hire ex-pats and the first thing we do us a way of introducing them to the public is force them to enforce draconian rules. Not exactly the best way get introduced.

[inBda on 19.10.06 at 18:34]

I would like to know why the police don't add the following to their list of acts they are clamping down on:

1. Having a child on the front or back of a cycle - surely the can be prosecuted as they are blatantly endargering the child's life - GET THE BUS if you don't have a car

2. Slamming on the brakes and coming to a complete and unpredictable stop to let someone out of a side road

3. Stopping whilst on a roundabout

4. Talking on a cell phone while driving/riding

5. Holding up traffic in order to have a chat

6. Use of fog lights blinding oncoming traffic - in the UK this is an offence unless visibility is less than a certain number of feet - can anyone tell me the last time it was foggy here ?

Perhaps the police should also conside one reason why there are so many poor drivers here is the fact that a significant % of the driving test is completed in a car park

At the end of the date it isn't speed that causes accidents its bad driving

Why can't they make Harbour Road flowing onto East Broadway a bike only route in rush hour and then the need for the third lane and overtaking would be eliminated ?

[stefan on 19.10.06 at 18:41]

inBDA, with regards to number 5: WELCOME TO BERMUDA

(hey, we're not on the North Circular any more...)

[Amin Swan on 19.10.06 at 19:00]

A Recent visit to the Dominican Republic I observed a man on a scooter with two children and his wife carrying a Matress...I couldn't beleive what I was seeing. So in my opinion it could be much worse.

[ian on 19.10.06 at 19:13]

Two words people....Smart Cars. I can see the local dealership from my office window and they are selling like candy to a baby up her' in the frozen great white north (CDA). Get rid of your big cars and SUV's (why do you need a 4x4 with fog lights in BDA??) and think 'smart'! They come in convertible models, use minimal fuel, and only use two or three cycle parking spots.

[Ethiops on 19.10.06 at 19:55]

SmokingGun - Curious - too funny. I can just imagine driving along and having the ferry cruise by me in a no-wake zone.;-)

lmaooooooooo that made me holla my ass off.

Seriously though 35kph is way too slow...

[CB on 19.10.06 at 19:56]

For the Police to say they will enforce the speed limit is just plain stupid and I challenge them to do this.

Stop anyone for speeding at 36kph. I'd like to see the RG article on the court appearance. In fact stop me - I love a bit of cabaret.

[newbie on 19.10.06 at 21:08]

Amin,

A little while ago I saw a female on a motorcycle with a child riding pillion AND another child (about 2 or 3 yrs old) standing in the front. I did a double take, followed them until I got the number of the bike and reported it to the police. Of course, I am not sure if they followed up on my phone call.

[JP on 19.10.06 at 21:18]

It's impossible to ticket any driver who exceeds 35kph. Car and Bike speedometers are not accurate enough for you to be able to adhere to the limit. As has been said elsewhere in this post, to force people back down to 35kph will create more dangerous driving conditions. Why not put the effort into changing and updating the driving test? Being able to parallel-park is important but the test needs to be longer and not just through the streets of Hamilton. The bike test especially needs a thorough overhaul.

[I.B. JMC on 19.10.06 at 22:20]

A few years back 60k or a 2nd offence within two years was automatic ‘off the road’ and one had to get a push bike and/or bus pass for 6 or 12 months. Now, you only get disqualified from driving the class of vehicle you got caught speeding on, and that is only if you opt not to pay an additional sum (of $) in lieu of going off the road.
Enforcing 35k is absolutely ludicrous - especially when one considers that there has been a de facto 50k limit in place for at least as long as I’ve been on the road, 19 years. I occasionally get a chuckle seeing that silly flashing sign on E. Broadway advising of the 35k limit; it never gets a break, waste of solar energy. I also get a laugh at the 35k reminders along Ferry Reach, of all places to put a reminder, waste of paint, remind the people traveling along Harbour Rd not those traveling along the longest straight stretch of road on the island.
If a police officer pulls me over for going 50 I hope it’s to tell me to keep up the good work. If I’m going 51 well – he/she should give me a ticket – it wouldn’t be the first time.
I’m all for a 50k speed limit - strictly enforced, as it was 19 years ago.

[stuart J Hayward on 19.10.06 at 22:42]

Limey, Raptor et al,
Poor choice of word in this setting for sure. I did not mean visitor as someone who merely pays a visit, but in the sense of someone who came here from somewhere else.

Of course you are entitled to your opinion, and to express it. And there are Bermudians who want the speed limit upped. But culture grows out of the relationship a people develop with their surroundings. The set of behaviours, of ways of looking at things, that set Bermuda apart for its tranquility and hospitality are under siege. I don't expect Bermuda ever to return to the days when I learned to ride a bike — wobbled on my mother's 'pushbike' from Dock Hill to Blackwatch pass and back without seing a single other vehicle. However, I would like for the kids of today and tomorrow not to be blown off the road by oversized and/or speeding vehicles.

It is easy to ridicule a policy or 'tradition' that is different from the norm where we grew up. It is not as easy to recognise that the lens through which we view another country was shaped by our home culture. Hence the adage, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

Limey, you have a potential for influence in this community that I would like to infuse with a sensitivity, not just for the loudest or most active voices, but also for the voices rarely heard. Just because people have become accustomed to overshooting the speed limit doesn't mean it is the best thing for this little Island. The driving habits most of us abhor are part and parcel of the lax enforcement we have been saddled with for the past decade or two.Doesn't mean that historically no one ever sped. But the lack of enforcement emboldened many more to develop fast and bad habits. A sharp crackdown may be an unwelcome shock, but very necessary to recoup some sanity on our roads.

[gerryc on 20.10.06 at 06:31]

As a non-driving, (never have, never will, never wanted to) non-bermudian, can I offer another perspective on this one ?

Everytime I come to the island, the thing I love about it more than anything else is to be able to WALK. Apart from catching the ferry/bus from Somerset into Hamilton, I walk everywhere. And its often terrifying. And definately solitary. I rarely see anyone walking outside of the main urban areas. The lack of pavements, often appalling driving, and a 'I gotta get where I'm going now and bugger everyone else' mentality make being a pedestrian on the island something of a high risk activity. Watching traffic pour out of Hamilton in the evening is a joke beyond price. I'd rather cross the North Circular blindfold than try and cross the Crow Lane roundabout at 5.30.

What on earth are people in such a hurry for ? Even at 21 k.p.h., nowhere is more than an hour from anywhere else. This need for speed is a kind of communal madness on the island. Most of the island is densely built urban/suburban, and traffic speeds rarely get above that in most such environments in the world.

It would be easy to blame the SUV/sports cars owners, but everyone's at it. Keeping, (and actually enforcing), the speed limit as is, (maybe + 5/10 kph) makes sense for all kinds of reasons.

The hegemony of the internal combustion engine on Bermuda is a joke looking for a punchline. And the way things are going in terms of car use expansion, that punchline is going to be gridlock. Personally, I'd ban the lot, upgrade all forms of public transport, create more pedestrian pathways, and promote the use of cycles/small cars on the Bermudian roads. I'd set limits on the size of lorries/vans allowed on the road and institute a program of a completely green transport infrastructure for the island within 10 years.

Where does more speed on a road to nowhere actually take you ?

[Lost in Flatts on 20.10.06 at 07:21]

Stuart -
I see where you're coming from with the whole when in Rome argument, and totally agree, but surely this is the least appropriate thread to ever grace this web forum? I mean, fine, makes sense with reference to anything cultural, but driving at 35kph? That's not a Bermudian thing! I've not seen anyone other than tourists and the occasional touring taxi drive at 35 in over 10 years!

Perhaps in the good old days that was the case, but the change is certainly not one brought about by visitors exerting their need for speed!

[American Onion on 20.10.06 at 08:09]

Ah Stuart..the playing the expat card.

While I respect your apparent veiw that a 35k speed limit is a good thing, I find your attitude that any expat who disagrees with you to be imparting their home culture on poor little Bermuda.

When in Rome does not mean keeping your mouth shut when the governemnt does something stupid. And Boy does it do stupid stuff often.

This comes out of left field and really has nothing to do with the issue except to show your distaste of us ex-pats who are having a freindly debate on the issue.

What if I said "Maybe Bermuda should stop trying to force its 35k culture on the proud and successful ex-pat community."

[Bandit on 20.10.06 at 08:28]

I got caught for speeding twice when I lived in BDA. Once for 53kph on my moped, the other for 55kph on my 10 speed racer. I got a $60 fine for the first offence but they could not charge me for the second.

If they are going to enforce the 35kph, my advice is get a decent peddly and go as fast as you want!

In all seriousness though, the 20mph limit (15 in town) was brought in at a time when there were many pedestrians and horses on the road. This is no longer the case and it is time for Bermuda to move with the times.

[justamysticman on 20.10.06 at 08:46]

E Z Rider Electric Bicycles on the Main Road in Somerset sells Charger electric bicycles. Find them on the web at ezriderbermuda.com.

[inBda on 20.10.06 at 10:01]

Was anyone else as underwhelmed as me at the number of officers that weren’t out enforcing the zero tolerance ?

I was expecting at least a couple enforcing the “no third lane” rule on East Broadway but the first one I saw was doing his normal morning directing just past Great Things….

Maybe they were out looking for real criminals ?!?!!? Then again - maybe not

[Canuck in Bermuda on 20.10.06 at 10:20]

inBda,

I *think* there was an undercover spotter/chaser team near the end of east broadway. Can't be sure though, the spotter was on his cell phone the whole time but there was a walkie-talkie right next to him

During my low-speed cruise in I was constantly looking up side streets trying to find the traps, don't think they existed. First uniforms I saw other than the traffic director were the guys wayyyy down front street. 2 on bikes looking extremely bored, and 2 just standing around, though I think one guy got waved in after I went by... hard to tell in the mirrors exactly what's going on. I do know they missed a car sailing right through a red light though!

Hopefully they're out tonight catching the drunks and the 80km/h around a blind bend crowd - that's the real problem, not the relatively low speed rush hour antics. At least get out of town and pick off people who are doing something far more dangerous than passing a line of cars on front street