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news
20 mph sign (CC BY-ND 2.0 licensed by Tony Hall:Flickr)Driver risks losing licence for repeatedly breaking 20mph limit
A woman from Bristol says she is being “penalised” after receiving nine points on her driving licence due to being caught breaking a 20 mile an hour speed limit three times within the past month.
30-year-old Rosy Allen fears she will be banned from driving if she is caught speeding again, reports the Bristol Post.
She told the newspaper: “I just feel really gutted. I don’t think it’s fair I’m being penalised for something everyone does.”
Earlier this month, research by the University of the West of England found that the city-wide speed limit had saved four lives and prevented 11 serious injuries in Bristol since it began to be phased in during 2014.
Government figures published last year, however, suggested that four in five drivers across the UK ignore 20 mile an hour limits, prompting campaigners to call for greater enforcement.
> 20mph speed limits ignored by four in five drivers
Ms Allen was caught by mobile speed cameras deployed by Avon & Somerset Constabulary.
The force provides advance notice of where they will be each week, with the list also published by the Bristol Post.
But Ms Allen insisted: “I do respect the 20 mph limit but no one drives at that speed. It’s so hard to drive at that speed.
“It’s really disappointing. I feel the system isn’t there to help people like me.
“I’m made to feel like a criminal for doing something everyone does.”
“I know it’s not okay but I’m going 26mph.
“It’s going to destroy my business,” she added, explaining that she wouldn’t be able to visit customers in person if she were banned.
The Bristol Post reported that while some motorists in Bristol caught breaking the law by exceeding the 20 mile an hour limit could attend a driver awareness course rather than have their licence endorsed with penalty points, that option was not available to Ms Allan.
The reason? She had also recently been caught driving through a red traffic light.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
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it feels a conveniant donkey to put the tail on imo, and Im not saying some members didnt quit BC because of the Shell thing, but Im not entirely...
- espressodan 3 hours 33 min ago
I'm never convinced how helmets with built in cameras and lights can be acceptable safe. Sounds like a good way to get a camera embedded in your...
- Rendel Harris 3 hours 42 min ago
Did I mention that it costs £580?
- chrisonabike 3 hours 41 min ago
Yeah - and one of the passengers had the gall to say that the *driver* had taken a wrong turn!...
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Don't worry! They've got plenty of others they can use!...
- Rendel Harris 4 hours 14 min ago
Well what is that way? Are you suggesting that every bend on every descent can be barriered over a 180km mountain stage?
- slappop 8 hours 27 min ago
Hopefully it'll still be allowed for recreational use.
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Well Gloucestershire are getting better. I'm being told whether or not action is to be taken, but not what action, within a few days of each report...
- Surreyrider 11 hours 48 min ago
Churnalism nowadays - mostly clickbait stuff and regurgitation in the local rags/comics and beyond.
- DogOfOB 12 hours 1 min ago
I'm glad the barrier wasn't damaged. Whew, close one there! \s
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81 comments
Updated BristolPost article is here - Bristol reacts! https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/bristol-reacts-after-wom...
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I too feel superior to this woman and have the need to comment that she is a stupid head.
Home taping is killing pedestrians and cyclists.
...is a phrase I've never heard used ever. Not all laws are there for convenience, to be ignored when you fancy.
I would comment but I passed out from banging my head against a wall.
"why should she?"
Well that's the easy one. The issue is that the other drivers you describe think you are the idiot!
Really, two seconds to check your speed?
Unless you're driving a vintage number with a tiny panel I am surprised that it would take you that long.
With regards to 20mph zones, West Midlands Traffic Unit (who many cyclists will know as the country's most progressive force) recently wrote:
" We need somewhere in the region of one in four compliance for the limits to be effective given urban traffic levels, the one in four slow everyone else down and produce safer roads."
https://trafficwmp.wordpress.com/2017/02/10/driving-an-extinction-event/
but if its 1 in 50 in most 20mph zones Id be pleasantly surprised and WMP seem to be the only force bothering with compliance,so whilst her view shouldnt excuse her actions, shes right practically no-one bothers obeying them, so why should she ?
I know if Im heading up towards 20mph on my road thats a 20limit and approaching near 20 years of zero enforcement, Ive been overtaken by cars driving on the pavement to get around or Ill have the car behind so close to me, its practically pushing me along, or theyll overtake, then slam on the brakes for the speed bump, then speed off again, and you just end up pulling up behind them at the end of the road
I thought she was caught in Bristol, so WMP aren't the only ones bothering with compliance. Yes I've been overtaken whilst driving in 20 and 30 mph zones too, but I continue to drive within the limits as I want other drivers to do that exact same thing when I'm on my bike. Do I have a dash cam? Actually yes and great fun it can be too.
On LinkedIn her top 3 skills are listed as 'communication, compassion and risk management'.
Definitely not driving, respecting the law or planning. The most incredible thing is that she went public expecting sympathy. Unfortunately representative of a group of drivers who feel entitled to do whatever speed they like and put others at risk because they are important, not like us plebs.
I'm torn between hoping her business fails and that it doesn't because other people will lose their jobs.
Ahh that's put a smile on my face. Maybe she should be made to read the west midlands police blog post from last year that was on here the other week, just sums up the complete lack of awareness of the responsibility she has as a driver. If she drives at 26 in a 20 what speed does she drive at in a 30?
The fact that the locations of the speed checks are published in advance really does show the stupidity at getting caught that often.
"It’s so hard to drive at that speed."
my car does exactly 20mph at idle in 4th gear...
“I feel like the system isn’t there to help people like me”
No it’s to protect the vulnerable from people like you.
Get caught once speeding in a 20 zone, fair enough everyone can make a mistake.
Get caught twice (in the same month) and you're showing you don't learn.
Get caught 3 times in a month, having previously been done for running a red light, and it shows you simply have no respecxt for the posted rules, or simply no ability behind the wheel and so removal from the driving population is probably for the best.
"I feel like I'm being made to feel like a criminal", that would be a person who breaks the laws then ? Such as, just as a random example, driving a motor vehicle in excess of the posted speed limit, or failing to stop at a red traffic control signal ?
This woman sounds like a complete moron. Probably best for all of us if she gets banned.
On the bright side the comments section on the Bristol Post website is now my favourite place on the internet
Speaking as a Bristolian, I would warn you not to get pulled into that mire. It is like the comments at the Daily Mail but without the respect, wit and humanity.
Lol - thanks for the warning - I realised that pretty quickly!
They're a harmless bunch of crayon munchers.
Or the intelligence. I long ago gave up reading the comments on any cycling story because they would be overwhelmed by ignorant petrolheads who must have cheated the driving test.
“Never have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.”
― Mark Twain
And twunts like her think bikes shouldn't be on the road, or that they all go through red lights.
You're supposed to learn from your mistakes, the first time she got caught and fined should have made here realise SHE DID SOMETHING WRONG.
"Earlier this month, research by the University of the West of England found that the city-wide speed limit had saved four lives and prevented 11 serious injuries in Bristol since it began to be phased in during 2014."
No arguement could ever take precedence over the above statement and yet some car drivers will try.
This sort of stuff is getting tiresome round here, are stories like this going to end up fostering a safer environment for us all on the roads, or just carry on driving a massive wedge between road users depending on their favoured method of transportation?
Wonder if road.cc have any desire to try and improve matters, or whether stories like this are just too good for clicks/adverts/comments/feeling smug about pointing out that people in cars are terrible...? Flame away...
Would you not concede that she is wrong?
I mean, Lord Moton only puts 20mph on roads with some pretty bad safety issues, or a primary school etc.
That she has been CAUGHT exceeding 3 times suggests she's an incident waiting to happen.
Is it newsworthy, yes. Is her attitude Alliston-esque, probably!
To be fair, Bristol has implemented the 20mph limit on most of the central roads regardless of safety issues (which I agree with as drivers couldn't be trusted to keep to the previous 30mph limits).
I don't get why she doesn't just slow down a bit. If she's that important that a few seconds will make a huge difference, then she can get a chauffeur to drive her around instead.
Or a bike
Similar fucked-up thinking to the dipshit driver.
Yes, it is road.cc driving the wedge, by reporting on innocent drivers too self-important and/or thick to not get caught speeding 3 times (in a month!) in the same area, and then crying about it.
Always someone else's fault.
Today I learnt that road safety can be completely solved by just stopping Road.cc from publishing any articles that paint bad drivers in a bad light. Who'da'thunk'it?
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