From Philip Ward, University of Sheffield
I’m glad to see that New Scientist is advocating the use of devices
to prevent cars from exceeding speed limits
(25 March, p 3).
To me, this is a far more practical way of improving road safety than traffic
calming and tougher law enforcement.
At current rates of expenditure, the £8 billion worth of work required
in Britain for traffic calming will only be completed by 2148. When it comes to
stricter application of the law, there are all kinds of difficulties, including
the civil liberties implications of giving the police extra powers.
Your editorial argues that fitting speed limiters to cars would be unpopular.
The trouble is that no one seems to be campaigning for it, to make it better
understood and more popular. The spurious arguments of some motorists that
anti-speeding devices would reduce their “control” of the vehicle, and of
manufacturers that they make “world cars” that can’t be tailored to a single
market, need to be confronted.
