Quote:
Well, just at the instance his eyes come back to the highway in this 30 times a minute check-it tedium (yes, he's doing 29mph in a 30 maximum), a small child runs out into the road - literally from nowhere (we are told, remember, that kids play in all sorts of places - like motorways)...
Well, anyway; in the instance the driver glances back from his speedometer and notices the child, he realises he is too close to brake and completely stop the car without hitting the child. His other option is to swerve across the double white lines to try to miss the youngster.
Should the driver a) Obey the Law? Or b) Cross the double white lines to attempt to avoid the collision?
PaulNN18 wrote:
roger wrote:
.... I am almost certain that I would brake hard and if that was not going to work, still on the brakes (ABS) I'd steer LEFT into whatever inanimate obstacles were there to miss the child and avoid any possibility of either a head on or being (indirectly) responsible for the child's death by avoiding actions of another. ....
Sorry, Roger. There is the odd dropped kerb on the left hand side of the road (which has allwed the kiddie to emerge) - otherwise the pavement is a 2 foot climb from the road surface with railings. An attempt to go to the left would have you sliding along the the obstacle (rather than mounting it) with little control, likely exacerbating the immediate problem.
Are you going to brake as hard as you can (obeying the law) and almost certainly knock the kid over?
Or are you going to disregard the law and drive across the double white lines - and making it a bit easier for you; it would appear unlikely (though not impossible) your vehicle would be struck by another as a consequence of your action of
wanton disobedience in disregarding the demands of an Act of Parliament?Are you going to obey the law or not? Yes or no? I am not asking you to mitigate after the event - I am asking you what you would tell other people to do before the event, if such an event took place.
I think I have shown that the law, and all the claptrap that goes with "unquestioning obedience" is a load of clap-trap. And whilst
we all should want to obey the spirit of the law, there is always an exception to any rule - no matter how well intentioned that rule is.
You miss understand the purpose of speed limits
Doing 29 mph in a 30 mph zone does not excuse not being fully in control of your vehicle. If you can not stop or have to cross the double white lines then you are driving without due care and attention.
You should have recognised the drop kerbs and the double white lines as areas of danger and reduced your speed accordingly.
Sometimes it isn't safe to do 15 miles an hour when the posted limit is 30 miles an hour.
It is about accepting personal responsibility for your speed, against the reliance of the authorities to set an arbitrary speed for all users of vastly differing abilities who are traveling in wide ranging weather conditions.
Your reasoning of having to chose between breaking the law and not being able to stop safely illustrates exactly why the current policy of concentrating mainly on the posted speed is costing so many lives.
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