Crucial to have limits on speed
PJ Coles mentioned that he/she was doing 71mph when caught (letters, October 3). The legal limit on the motorway is 70mph (77mph when overtaking, providing it is safe to do so).
So PJ Coles must have been travelling on a country road with a legal limit of 60mph.
Just because the road is open and presumably safe, it doesn't mean that the speed limits can be broken. We have speed limits on our roads for a purpose.
The maximum limit is just that - you may not even be able to get to the maximum due to hazards. People just don't take this into consideration. They see the limit and they think that they have to get to that limit as quickly as possible. There are so many accidents because drivers don't see the dangers until the last minute. They are too busy trying to get to that maximum limit too quickly.
Drivers need to slow down. PJ Coles was dangerously breaking the limit. The road you were travelling on might have been open, but no road is safe.
Thankfully, I've never broken the speed limit, not even in a 30mph zone. I've got a clean licence and been driving for 20 years.
I am a qualified observer with the Institute of Advanced Motorists and help train car drivers to be safer behind the wheel.
Steve Phipps, Telford
Popular stories:
Daily news blog
Speed officer to fight conviction
Find bargains with StarBidz
Sarah shares royal secrets
Mayor stunned by space price
