Policy & Politics Blog

30 September 2011

Freedom - to drive as fast as I want

I'm absolutely in favour of freedom to choose. Anyone who knows me will know I HATE being told what to do. But so long as it doesn't interfere with other people's freedoms.

Tory Minister Phillip Hammond's offer to increase the speed limit to 80mph seems to be pandering to the motoring lobby at the expense of the rest of us.

I think it's a terrible decision. Letting people drive super fast may add very slightly to the convenience of some drivers - but it will increase the risk and seriousness of accidents and make climate change worse due to extra emissions.

I wonder what's next? Maybe the Tories should allow dog-fouling in school playing fields. It's a bit inconvenient that dog-owners have to pick up their collie's crap after all.

Or up the drink-driving limit - it's a bit annoying I can only have one pint in the pub and then have to switch to orange juice.

And it's stressful in that hospital waiting room - why shouldn't I be allowed to have a fag?

For all the to-and-froing there'll be about new cars being safer these days, at root the 80mph decision is about to what extent people should not do things which hurt other people.

Here the choice to drive faster is far less important than reducing a greater majority's choice to be safe on the roads and their freedom to live a climate that's not going haywire.

For me, increasing the speed limit to 80 feels like allowing ASBO behaviour on a vast scale. Not a very Tory thing to do, surely?

Posted by Simon Bullock | 30 Sep 2011 | Climate Change, Transport, 2011