Beep, beep. Out of my way slow coach!
Haiku’s courtesy of ‘theboywyatt’ http://theboywyatt.blogspot.com/
.GoFasterStripes.
Loudly tooting horn!
flicking the V’s at the flash.
Speeding road rager. ©theboywyatt, 2009
I recently attended a ‘speed awareness workshop’ having been caught speeding by one of Wiltshires 18 (approx.) mobile speed camera’s, like many other unfortunate motorists across the county. I’m not proud to be caught speeding, unintentionally as it was because no matter how you dress it, FACT speed kills and approximately 11 people die each day from being involved in road traffic accidents around the country at huge emotional and financial cost.
Attending a ‘SAW’ is a double edged sword because whilst the whole process leading up to the workshop itself can leave you feeling criminalised / angry / ashamed /put upon, the actual workshop is a really worthwhile, sensitively run, educational and an enjoyable experience. For some it really is an eye opener, for others thought provoking but one thing it is NOT is a waste of time. I had expected it to become a forum for people to protest their innocence and bemoan the blight of speed camera’s on our roads waiting to entrap unsuspecting motorists and make loads of moolah for the coffers but it wasn’t. I really benefited from attending a SAW but the one thing the workshop didn’t do was convince me that speed camera’s are a positive means of improving road safety, like the issuing of parking tickets and wheel clamping I think that despite good intentions these measures are more successful at criminalising people who really don’t intend to behave in an unlawful way. As they said at the beginning of our workshop we are human, prone to human error, we are not perfect, we all make mistakes, which is why if ALL drivers had to attend a Speed Awareness Workshop some five to ten years after passing their driving test and then again after a further ten years and so on, I feel that would be a much more effective way of both educating drivers on our roads today and also of improving their awareness and driving skills.
As one of our trainers stated, not many drivers, having passed their driving test give any thought to improving or developing their driving skills and can be embedding and continuing bad and lazy habits in their driving for the rest of their driving days. The law, road signage, road design, has changed so much since I learnt to drive. Given the ability to maim, seriously injure, or kill either yourself or another person/s whilst in control of a vehicle it’s suprising we give it so little attention. Surely, if we poured the same resources and energy that Local Authorities spend on administering parking fines into making learning to drive just the start of a life-time process more people would behave more responsibly on our roads and there would be less need to waste valuable police resources on issuing speeding fines and manning mobile speed traps? In our working lives we have continuing professional development – driving is as important as our careers to those of us who do it – for many the ability to drive is a life-line so why not mandatory refresher training and continuing education?
.88MilesAnHour.
Flaming tire tracks,
Back to the Future stylee,
speeding driver flies. © theboywyatt