Campaign for penalty points for speeding
Monday 21st November 2011, 3:00PM GMT.
Road Safety Panel vice-chairman Peter Tabb
A CAMPAIGN calling for driving licence penalty points to be introduced as a new weapon to combat speeding is launched today.
The Jersey Road Safety Panel is formally asking Home Affairs Minister Ian Le Marquand to consider the points system as well as fixed financial penalties for exceeding the limit.
They say that repeat offenders need to know that they could lose their licence if they refuse to curb their illegal behaviour.
The panel sets out its case this morning on the first day of national Road Safety Week – an annual awareness-raising initiative to promote better driving.
Vice-chairman Peter Tabb said: ‘The panel holds the view that a penalty points system would focus the mind of drivers who were on the verge of losing their licence.’
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additionally a pro rata system of fines and penalties based upon someones earnings – as used in Norway – should be introduced. this alone would fill the pensions deficit.
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Couldn’t agree more Bruce. I had a lawyer friend who was caught speeding in Finland. He ended up paying a fine in the region of around £10,000.
He never sped again!
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good thinking
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Good suggestion, all for it
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Totally with you on that one Bruce. A set minimum of £30 and a maximum set as a % of earnings.
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Whose going to police it, I can’t remember the last time I saw a copper with a radar gun. Oh yes I can it was 1996, a motorcycle cop on top of the underpsass.
Personally I’m more concerned about some of our doddering older drivers who sit half an inch from the steering wheel, have one foot permanantly on the brake and drive everywhere at 22mph. If you dare to overtake on a clear straight stretch of road they flash and beep you, this is the only time they use their lights. Bad drivers are dangerous at any speed, the only difference is if they are speeding they hit something harder.
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1996!? Is that States Police or honorary officers you speak of? Either way I saw one just 6 weeks ago.
But of course, we’re not allowed to overtake whether conditions and/or road allow it as Mr. Tabb claims any vehicle overtaking another is not worth the risk involved for the time fraction gained. Clearly Mr. Tabb is not up-to-date with todays machinery and is currently still caught in his Neolithic childhood.
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Yeah, have to admit I did see the polis speed checking on the avenue last friday evening.
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Exactly Mulvie. I drive between The Airport and Trinity every day. The number of times I am stuck behind someone doing 30 all the way who then obliviously drive through St Peters 20 limit at 30!!
We are lucky to ever reach the limit of 40.
Don’t get me started on bycicles OMG !!
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I drive around the island a fair amount and I very seldom see an officer with a speed gun and there are no cameras in the island.
Penalties are not much use without a good chance of getting caught.
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What a silly idea. The parish hall system seems to work fine.
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was it not three endorsements, then you were walking.
if thats not a points system what is?
belive me when caught , and you are standing before the court, after the parish hall enquiry.
your mind tends to focus on what may happen.
mr le marquand when a magistrate , told me “if i see you here again, you will be getting a bicycle”
worked quite well that did .
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More b****X this bloody place has a non stop diet of nonsense purveyed by non job idiots
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I like it bruce.
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Are you kidding? I drive around the island all the time and it doesn’t have a big enough problem with speeding to require this level of action.
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how can you say that? – I see people speeding all the time in every part of the island. Doesnt mean that i can factually say we have a huge problem, just like you cant say we dont.
If we didnt have a problem, why would they be introducing more measures to clamp down on it? – I think 3 strikes and you pay a big fine and licence suspended.. if they have to be told 3 times, then they clearly arent learning.
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runner, do you have magic “laser calibrated” speed recognition eyes?
If not, you can not factually say you see people speeding everywhere.
We already have a 3 strikes system.
The only reason this sort of system would be used is to increase revenue from the already overtaxed car user.
as has been proven on the St Clements Coast road, lower speed limits do not result in less fatalities or accidents, if a reckless driver wants to be reckless, they will.
What should be addressed is the people who have a generally poor standard of driving, jumping red lights, riding your bumper, lack of indication, forgetting to put headlights on, putting fog lights on instead of main lights……you get the picture.
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Teddy, i can factually say that i see people speeding.
when i am driving at 20mph in a 20mph zone and a car hurtles past me as they are overtaking at speed, then i can safely say they ARE speeding, because if my speed is the max limit, and they are travelling faster than me, then they are speeding. I didnt suggest that i could read their speedometres, Just if i am driving to the speed limit, and a car is travelling faster than me, then they are speeding. Its quite simple.
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Maybe you’re confusing people speeding with ‘a problem’. Whether it is a problem actually depends on whether the speed set is sensible in the first place. Some of the speeds in Jersey are too high at some times of day and far too low at other times.
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“If we didnt have a problem, why would they be introducing more measures to clamp down on it?”
To generate income!
Don’t worry though, the rich among Jersey will take it all the way to court, pay an expensive lawyer and get away with speeding. Only those on a basic income will suffer.
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Just another example of how to screw the motorist even more – no i don’t agree with speeding, but the ones that get caught will be the motorist doing 17mph in a 15mph zone, 22mph in a 20mph zone, just another good revenue spinner! it will not address the issue of the boy racer or late night speeders because old bill will be at the Big Ouse drinking coffee, how many police do you see out on the roads late night or early morning.
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I could not agree more ! Speed cameras will not catch thouse gunning it around the back roads, they will catch the very motorists who campaingned for their introduction, doing 35 mph through the underpass.
Times past, anyone breaking the all island limit of 40 m.p.h. by 20 m.p.h. i.e. over 60 m.p.h. got banned. And what happened last week, a newly elected States Member got a simple fine for doing 22 m.p.h. over the limit ! The magistarte should have made an example of him !
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Damn right!
I think they should have the smaller fines only for those 7mph to 10mph over, and for 10mph or more, then its points and large fine.
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I’d say that we need enforcement before further penalties. Nonetheless, if this idea does lift off then maybe non-offenders could be rewarded in some way.
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The issue in Jersey we have is an ageing population and the fact that the over 65 year olds are driving round with no up to date medicals, no eye tests and or hearing tests.
I was knocked off my motorbike when stationary because of a gentleman who was passed the age to drive, he died shortly within 6 months but could nearly have taken me out with him. Astonishing that the police do not clamp down on these drivers. What are the states doing about this before someone gets killed.
Also, why do cyclists persistently cycle side by side blocking the whole road, chatting away and not being considerate to the queues building up behind them ?
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When I was young, we were told it was against the law to ride a bike side by side! now all we see is ignorant cyclists talking and ignoring the traffic behind, and most are dressed in over the top flash sports gear as if they are on the tour de France, and yet when you do finally get to pass them! they look about 90 years old!!!
And no!, points system is not the way for Jersey, it’s another money spinning idea from Mr Peter Tabb who only supports the car industries, next it will be M.O.T
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You were told wrong pauper. The law says that cyclists can ride no more than two abreast.
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Well if the finger is pointing at boy racers in their mean machines doing all the speeding? why not set a simple rule.! all new drivers are limited to drive nothing more then 1000cc vehicles until they reach the age of 25, that’s when the cost of their insurance becomes cheaper.
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There was a recent incident between a bus and a car. The car driver was ‘at fault’ (he admitted to onlookers that he blacked out at the wheel) but thankfully, and unbelievably, no-one was hurt. The car driver’s only concern was that he didn’t lose his licence. He is exactly the kind of person we need to be removing licences from!
Any decent human being would have been concerned that it would happen again and they would hurt someone, any decent person would have been handing over their licence faster than you could blink. Not this guy! Nope, apparently when weighing up our right to live against his own desire to avoid public transport or a bicycle, his desire wins!
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Almost as sensible as the current situation in St.Martins that caught out a new politico !
The main road is 30mph and the minor roads that feed into it are 40mph except for the 15mph ones that is.
So it’s easy… big road 30mph … small road 15mph or 40mph … I feel revenue cameras are on the way.
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Funny, as always whenever it comes to articles concerning speed in the island, when you read the comments as i have just done, you can clearly see the divide between those who abide by the law and those that don’t! i’m not necessarally meaning the posts above this one ( although there is a sniff of what i mean in there!)but articles like this in general. Anything that slows motorists down has to be a good thing, people are driving far too fast for our roads. Unfortunately this IS fact! Add to that the odd txt message/phone call, or twiddling with the heater or radio, or searching for a lighter to have a fag etc etc etc… soon you have a concoction of things that cause concern! People need to ease up a little!
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I think there should be speed cameras on many roads and there should be more patrols at night to get the boy racers I hear screaming around the roads.
The standard of driving is very poor, but I see as many young (usually men) in small cheap cars going very fast as I do oldies driving badly.
I personally think the worst drivers are the ladies with the babies in the back of their huge 4x4s and they usually cannot go backwards!
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Fully agree about the 4×4, unless you need one for work or live on a farm….WHY DO YOU HAVE ONE IN JERSEY!!! They are much too big, usually driven by the type of driver who thinks along the lines of “well i dont need to drive well, if i crash i will be ok in this tank!”
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About time, constantly fed up with idiots flying down our green lane, however as mentioned before enforcement is needed which seems sadly lacking after repeated requests. Speed cameras will be coming to the island without doubt, all flashing speed signs in the parishes record speed date and time. This data will no doubt be used to justify the use of cameras (hope they are all calibrated constables!) so all boy racers who have been using them as top speed indicators have ironically been adding quality data to the pro camera lobby! More enforcement and cameras in hot-spots please!
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The current policy is, if its still there, is to only prosecute those who exceed the speed limit by 20% + 1 mph (i.e. 25 in a 20, 37 in a 30, etc). Therefore no one can really have an excuse if ‘done.’
I think everyone will see a huge increase in ‘cops with speed guns’ now the motorcycles will be back. The bikes can park virtually anywhere, unlike cars, and monitor the likely spots.
PS the reason why 65+ yr olds are astill driving without having to re-take ANY test (unlike the UK), as I was very reliably informed, is that if there was a re-test, many OAP’s would fail but there isn’t an efficient public transport system to get them around. Safety v necessity; go figure.
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We should be able to submit online somewhere, where we see the worst speeding,(not the odd speeder, but consistant) a certain lane, road, or street, and then perhaps once calculated the top ten areas for speeding, the police could set about rotating with speed guns to patrol these areas.
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Its all about the correct speed for the conditions.
Just because someone is exceeding the stated limit does not necessarily make it dangerous.
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Erm no its not, you cant pick and choose which laws you wish to follow. Stick to the speed limit and your fine, none of this nonesense about driving to the conditions. If you think the limit for a particular road is too low, lobby your minister or whoever to try and change it.
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Teddy, when someone knocks over a member of your family or friend because they were driving a few MPH over the limit, I hope you can agree with them that it was a mishap and not because they were driving dangerously. The law is the law, and if you do not abide, then you have to accept being fined if caught. No one is saying if you drive a few mph over the limit then you are dangerous, far from it, im sure you are just as safe driving at the limit, than driving 5mph more, but.. the stopping distance changes.
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‘Sensible’, you got the wrong end of the stick completely and have not thought about your reply to Teddy.
So you are suggesting, for example, by sticking to the speed limit through St Peters’ valley in heavy rain with poor visibility, little daylight and with busy traffic in both directions that you’re perfectly fine? No, its all about the conditions.
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‘Leo Vince’ So bombing through St Peter’s Valley in good conditions at 70mph is fine? I was replying to the inferred belief that the you can go above the limit if the conditions permit; I am saying this is against the law and you cannot, perhaps I should have clarified the point. I have been hit by a car, speeding (45mph)who thought that the road conditions were good enough to speed through a pedestrian crossing. Of course the overwhelming factor in that was bad driving skills but if they had stuck to the 30mph limit from fear of prosecution then my disabling injuries (now cannot walk without a stick) would not have been so bad (hit at that speed I am lucky to be alive). It does make me laugh when people bang on how they are good drivers and can handle excessive (i.e. over the limit) speeds if the conditions permit; yes you may be able to but the limits are there to mitigate the results of when it all goes wrong.
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i am sick of these stupid cyclists who think they can ride around holding up everyone behind them. I CYCLE and often pull over to allow cars to pass. I ALSO DON’T NEED THE STUPID TOUR DE FRANCE CLOTHING. i also drive and the SLOW DRIVERS are far more DANGEROUS than anybody else.
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So here we go – bash the driver who exceeds the speed limit by a small amount…..this will hit EVERYONE in the Island.
So why haven’t the Road afty Panel looked at what the Police say about motoring and driving standards in Jersey ? To quote from the States Police website ‘Jersey has about 750 kilometres of roads, many of which are narrow and intersected by junctions. These conditions demand care and attention – but carelessness is one of the biggest causes of road traffic collisions in the Island.’ http://www.jersey.police.uk/crime/roadsafety/Pages/default.aspx
Deal with carelessness first – the drivers who are chatting on their phones, the ones who don’t look before making a manouevre, the ones busy changing their CD whilst driving etc……
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“this will hit EVERYONE in the island”
I am trying to understand how it will hit me as I don’t speed. The only thing I can think of is that it will make the roads a lot safer to use if the persistent speeders have lost their license or slow down due to heavy fines, in which case, it can only be a good thing…
…Unless of course you would prefer the roads to be dangerous and are not that bothered that it could be your wife, husband, children, mother, father etc. who could be killed by some boy racer trying to impress his mates.
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Driving license with points!
What a good idea. That was introduced about 12 years ago in Europe.
Jersey always 10 years behind…
Some need to leave their villages once in a while…
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You are in fact the one that needs to leave the ‘village’. If you paid attention yourself then you’d notice speed is not as commonly the cause of an incident like some would have you believe.
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Where did I mention speed ?
If you paid attention,I am talking about points on driving licenses.
Where did I mention speed?
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True, you didn’t mention speed in your original comment, but the article we are all discussing is a points on licences system for speeding only and unfortunately not for other offences such as driving without due care and attention.
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By the way: the reason to kill your speed is that you might injured someone by driving carelessly within the speed limits but very likely kill them if you are over the limit.
Do you really think that Lotus who crash and kill the passenger was within the speed limit ?
Looking at the state of the car I really doubt. Therefore she could still be alive if the driver was driving normally.
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I see no harm in a points system it seems like a valid system but is it better than the system we currently have in place?
I have recently heard the UK has now turned off all of it’s automated speed cameras as they get constantly burnet out and it is more expensive to run them with manpower, postage, enforcement of fines etc then the revenue it brings in.
Why can we not plaster our roads with the modern speed bumps that are used in villages in the uk that are like two flat top pyramids in the road.
This will force vehicals to slow down or damage their cars and will be much cheaper than managing an automated speed camera system.
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Speed bumps have been tested but had to be removed for ambulances and emergency vehicles.
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I swear they milk the motorist more than the cows over here…
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How exactly? Do we pay road tax? No. Do we have MOT? No. Is our insurance expensive? No. Is parking expensive? No.Granted the cost of fuel is high but then thats the case all over nowadays. I drive, dont get me wrong, but I do not find the cost of doing so particularly high, especially compared with the UK.
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obviously a newcomer to Jersey, road tax does exist, it was incorporated to the cost of fuel several years ago.
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Been here 11 years, so no not a new comer. However, this would mean that if you remove the road tax element from fuel then it is quite a bit cheaper. So when people moan about the price of petrol compared to UK they should compare UK prices the to ex road tax cost? Never knew this was the case, and it actually makes sense for once as the user pays…
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The roads are regulated well enough at the moment by the Honda Jazz “flat cap” brigade. If you are unfortunate enough to get stuck behind one of these old duffers, then you won’t be speeding or even getting where you are going remotely on time! The Honda Jazz is, seemingly, incapable of exceeding 0 mph so it makes an ideal moving roadblock. This model is also not fitted with indicators, so you have to be on your toes if you are behind one because it is impossible to predict what it might do or where it might go. Perhaps a better way of slowing traffic to a near standstill (which seems to be the object of the states at the moment) is to provide a grant to old folk whereby they can purchase a Honda Jazz; indicators can be a rarely specified optional extra!
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I propose we start a campaign whereby if you are caught by any member of the public doing anything remotely incorrect you get an automatic wedgie from the nearest member of the public.
About as effective I would think as the proposal for the points system.
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I live in St. Clement and frequently travel on the coast and inner roads,at 30mph,I am constantly getting caught up by the vehicle travelling behind or being overtaken by it perhaps the police should consider patrolling in an unmarked car occasionally in various Island roads to catch a few
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The first day of the safety campaign and its to combat speeders! Surprise, surprise, revenue, revenue! Lets hope they don’t forget to target the increasing (and ageing) portion of the population who are clearly unable to drive their vehicles to an acceptable standard.
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To be honest I think the police are not that worried about low level speeding.
Stick a few bobbles out there with speed guns from time to time to remind everybody that there is a speed limit and get on with other things.
A lot more time and money is spent on drink driving and in the eyes of most people rightly so.
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no no no crapeauds
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There are plenty more things they could look at first.
Include a hazard awareness section in the driving test and training to go with it.
New drivers to display a P plate for one year with restricted cc they can drive. Just like motorcyclists.
Idiots on mobile phones whilst driving, I see 10+ per day.
The old people who clearly should not be on the road in a ton of moving steel.
All people seem to worry about is speeders and the fact that someone will get knocked over. Yes that does need to be looked at but with this system the 35 through the underpass (we all do it) lot will get points. The habitual 60+mph lot, yes of course that needs to be sorted but the road safety panel are just jumping on the bandwagon.
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I agree on all those points, but speeding is just as important….for example mix excessive speed with some numpty on a mobile (which i have seen) and you in a world of pain.
Re the hazard awareness, when i took my theory all those years ago they were saying they were going to bring one in, it take it that has not happened? Odd, as every UK book or CD some contains one now so most people will have asy access to review prior to testing.
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There is, in my opinion, far too much of a focus on speeding alone when, in actual fact, the real problem is poor and often dangerous driving in general.
This includes (but is not limited to):
- Driving at inappropriate speeds
- Poor lane discipline (using the wrong lane on the avenue, undertaking, treating 2 roads that merge into a 2 lane road as a filter in turn)
- Overtaking in inappropriate places
- Inability to recognise road signs and markings
- Improper use of indicators
As a driver, motorcyclist, cyclist and pedestrian I feel qualified to say I’ve seen it all! The problem is how to deal with it – you can’t just turn a poor driver into a better one by giving them a fine or points on their license.
Much better would be a system such as the one in the UK, where people can attend speed awareness or other road safety classes in lieu of receiving a penalty for minor or first time offences. If a person continues to offend then by all means apply further penalties, but are the ones we already have really insufficient?
As for speed cameras, they only really address part of a much broader issue and, when you consider how easily they can be avoided, especially here where we are so familiar with our roads, it’s hard to see how they can be justified.
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“you can’t just turn a poor driver into a better one by giving them a fine or points on their license”
Agree, but you can stop a qualified and competent driver to turn into a killing machine.
It s not just speeding, get caught on your mobile phone, be one unit over the drinking limit, don’t have an insurance, take 8 people in your cars….
Many reasons to lose points, points add up and then you lose your license.
In theory you should get them back if you do not get court after so many years.
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Agree with your points except this one
Poor lane discipline (using the wrong lane on the avenue, undertaking, treating 2 roads that merge into a 2 lane road as a filter in turn)
The reason I disagree is that the places I know of such as merging into the traffic in and around the hospital and just past inn on the park is that there is not enough road left to make a right turn into the traffic at peak times if no one will let you in. you are basically stuffed if you dont stop or almost stop but I put that down to poor road planning rather than the motorist.
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They should try speed checks standing in the entrance of Clos Paumelle pointing up towards Five Oaks.
It’s not just the boy racers, who in fairness usually leave it until after 10pm to launch their Imprezas from the roundabout and see who can get the highest speed past St S school.
Throughout the day cars speed along here, vans, mums, everyone.
Points for them then?
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I do fail to see how a points system will be any deterrent. The people who speed do so for a few reasons. They believe that they will not get caught and they believe that they are not doing anything *really* wrong.
Some silly people would claim that speeding fines are just a tax on road users..
Getting caught once, should be enough for most normal people, but these are not normal people who constantly, deliberately speed. These criminals (a crime is the act of breaking a law) who do it constantly will not worry about points.
They often speed, finally get caught, get points.
They do it again, finally get caught, get points.
They do it again, finally get caught again, get licence taken away.
They get back into car and drive anyway without a licence, without insurance.
If one law is constantly ignored, then why should they pay attention to another.
We need speed cameras that don’t need some sort of warning sign, so these people are caught in the act. They have to be easily moved around the island so its harder to “know” where they are. With fines automatically sent to the car owners it could start paying for itself. repeat offenders appear in court with stiff sentences including confiscation of vehicle (possibly auctioning it for charity.) Those with licences removed from them have to be checked on to make sure they don’t get back in a car (like the police do in the UK)
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As a driver of 33 years, I have been caught speeding once for doing 57 in a 40 zone locally (I have managed NOT to get caught doing 130 mph in France, nor doing 90 mph on the M40 during which I overtook a Police Range Rover which was in the inside lane)
Having said that, it was not speed that caused a bloke in a Land Rover to shorten my car by 9 inches while I was in it, not was it speed that caused a driver to suddenly depart against a red light which caused me to T- Bone his car ! (In fareness to the latter, one of the two red Stop lights was not working, and I think he was looking at another Green light !)
Every day, I read about accidents on Jersey’s roads, but very few drivers get procecuted. Why not ? Skid in the wet – You are driving carelesly Hit the car in front, ditto !
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Not necessarily on topic but I think you’ll find very few people will drive without a licence and/or insurance, whereas the vast majority of the population will speed even if by only 1 or 2 mph whether intentional or not.
You make it sound like speeding is a ‘gateway’ crime to then commit further and worse driving related offences on our roads. Nonsense.
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Whilst people may “Speed” by one or two MPH, the calibration of vehicle speedometers is not entirely accurate, especially at low speeds, so any prosecution of “Speeders” within about 10% of the speed limit are simply told to slow down. Your car may say your doing 40, but you might actually be doing 43 or even 37…
I am talking about people who intentionally speed, doing 57 in a 40 for example. They know the law, yet they choose to ignore it. Whilst some people who are caught will pay more attention to their speed in the future, it is the people who continue to do it after being caught. These are the people that will be affected by a point’s scheme on licences.
I do not believe that points will have any affect. These people know they are breaking the law, so getting caught four times and going to court four times just to loose their licences for “points” are not going to stop them from driving. Sadly, the statistics in the UK bare this out, well over 80% of people caught driving without licences have lost them previously. The rest tend to be on provisional, having not yet even gained a full licence.
The system we have here already works, the entire “If I see you in court again, you will loose your licence” is a different means of the same effect. And it doesn’t need points.
Normal people wouldn’t have broken the law in the first place. It is a sad point that some people believe that the law against speeding is an infringement on their human rights (how? I don’t know?) but these are the same people that complain that speeding fines are a tax on driving, (in the same way I suppose that fines are a tax on stealing?) and its they who complain against speed cameras for instance. They do not believe that the laws about driving are as relevant as laws against stealing, rape or murder.
Simply put, If people ignore traffic law because they believe it infringes on there human rights, why should they suddenly grow a conscience and obey other traffic laws that stop them continuing to do what they want. If they want to drive fast, points are not going to stop them, and neither is the loss of a licence.
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“Jersey has about 750 kilometres of roads, many of which are narrow and intersected by junctions. These conditions demand care and attention – but carelessness is one of the biggest causes of road traffic collisions in the Island”.
This is taken from the States of Jersey Police website. The lawmakers should be clamping down on the poor driving standards.
People on mobiles, Women brushing hair and applying make up, Taxi drivers who dont look before doing U Turns, Red light jumpers at West park, Delivery drivers who can stop anywhere without traffic management,
There is no joined up thinking in this island. Take for example the Five mile road this would be a 50-60 mph road in the UK and Victoria Avenue would be between 50- 70 mph as its classed as a dual carriageway.
Then look at The St Clements farce, 22 people complained and now the whole parish apart from one short section of road is a 30mph zone.
Peter Tabb wants to get out a bit or perhaps he wants a job as a tax collector
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50-70 mph with traffic lights every 5 minutes and a queue off traffic at the end. Quite possibly the most ridiculous suggestion yet. Congratulations!
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Yes, 70mph is over the top for a road with traffic lights throughout but our vehicles do have brakes you know, we don’t have to pile into the back of traffic at the lights!
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Seems like a good idea but I wonder if it will actually be enforced effectively ? Fed up with cars speeding past our house all day and night !
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One quick point – if it’s ‘three minor speeding offences and you are banned’ then it will take about a week of speed checks on the Avenue to take 100% of the Island’s taxi drivers off the road……………..
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yes! taxis seem to have their own law. they drive at 20mph when you are in their car because they make more money out of you, yet when alone they whizz along doing over 50 on the avenue!
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Looks like an easy way to get cash to try and help fill the black hole. If speed cameras come in it will mean lots of money for the states.
32 yes the different speed zones are a joke you get a side road passing from one parish to another which suddenly goes from 15 to 30 or 40 mph or vic versa completely crazy.
Quite agree about the tour de france cyclists they look silly especially the fat ones! They are also a pain in the **** when in groups going along country lanes. Just the other week I had to overtake a line of 17 of them.
They should only be allowed to go around in small groups say 4 max and they should NOT ride 2 abreast they obstruct motorists along narrow country lanes who are trying to get past. This never happened in the good old days when cyclists had common sense and didn’t make fools of themselves in daft coloured licra.
I must say what passes for driving these days is appalling I have to ask whether a large section of modern drivers have ever sat a test.
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i like socks
perhaps we could organise a town hall meeting for all the jazz drivers and explain that the car wont blow up if it hits over 20 mph and that the levers on the side of the steering wheel aren’t just there for decoration.
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A cyclist will no doubt come on here and argue that, legally speaking, they can ride tow abreast. That might be so, but there is an overriding duty to use the roads with due consideration for other road users.
Cyclists also jump red traffic lights. I see it every day. Sometimes I hoot but the errant cyclist, such is the sense of overinflated entitlement, is usually oblivious to this. I see that a clampdown on motorists jumping red lights is currently underway. I trust that the same vigilenece will apply to cyclists.
Cyclists also ride up one way streets and on pavements. I saw one yesterday go through a red light, mount the pavement and ignore a no entry sign. Three offences in quick succession. I have begun to film these individuals on my mobile phone.
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Many cyclists and Motorcyclists now have cameras mounted on their helmets and handlebars, lets hope they don’t catch you doing something Harold. Check out youtube for some terrible Jersey car driving.
You want to be careful using your mobile to film them, even if you are stopped at traffic lights I think the police would take a dim view. You need to be in control of your vehicle.
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What about HGVs? They are restricted to 30 mph but always seem to exceed that. When was the last time that anyone saw an HGV driver done for speeding? Think what damage one of those could do yet the police don’t seem very bothered. I wonder why?
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Worse than the HGVs are the tractor drivers, if you have a huge tractor with a massive trailer behind you doing over 30 and they have to stop quickly you can have a very nasty accident.
They speed around the lanes here with little regard for anyone else.
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And the stopping distance os an HGV compared to a decent car is significantly more !
On this basis, HGV’s should be restricted to 20 mph.
Incidentally, I am invariably travelling above the 30 mph limit on the way home, and also not wearing a seatbelt. On occasions, I am even standing up while suing my phone ! Yes, on a bus ! Makes a complete mockery of law enformcement !
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‘Leo Vince
You are in fact the one that needs to leave the ‘village’. If you paid attention yourself then you’d notice speed is not as commonly the cause of an incident like some would have you believe’
no Leo, but it don’t ‘arf make the incident more significant!
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‘And what happened last week, a newly elected States Member got a simple fine for doing 22 m.p.h. over the limit ! The magistarte should have made an example of him !’
Imagine if it been poor old Stuart!
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70 on Victoria avenue? Don’t be bl**dy ridiculous, Fed up St Clementais.
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Some still manage to drive at 25 mph on the esplanade and stay on the fast lane.
Even more annoying will be the one coming from Rouge boullion stopping at the hospital junction, waiting for cars to drive by and then cross a WHITE LINE. THERE IS NO NEED TO STOP THERE as you only need to carry on driving and us your indicator to turn right in front of the hospital entrance. THIS IS NOT A FILTER IN TURN !!!!
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To free up the police to catch the speedsters we need to reduce the paperwork. You speed, you get fined. Therefore cameras are the best way forward.
However to be a deterrent, in addition to knowing it is being enforced, the penalties must be prohibitive to speeding:
£100.00 for every 1 MPH above the speed limit – the faster you go the more you pay.
Second offence – £250.00 for every 1 MPH above the speed limit.
Third offence – Confiscation of the car which is then sold at auction to the highest bidder + loss of your licence.
If everyone knew the penalties and knew it was being enforced the law would not be broken.
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I often find that speed is linked with penis size. The fast one feels they need to drive, the smaller one’s penis is.
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The same with the 4×4 ‘s all the school run Mum’s drive, the bigger the 4×4,the smaller the penis of the Husband who bought it for them.
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Driving whilst smoking or on the phone is probably more dangerous than going 50mph along Victoria Avenue.
On the way to work last month I witnessed two accidents that occured in stationary traffic- where the drivers simply weren’t concentrating and rear ended the car in front at about 5-10 mph. Neither speed cameras nor a points system would have avoided these incidents.
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‘Driving whilst smoking or on the phone is probably more dangerous than going 50mph along Victoria Avenue.’
It might be but, it doesn’t mean that speeding is not dangerous. Is it impossible to tackle more than one issue.
‘On the way to work last month I witnessed two accidents that occured in stationary traffic- where the drivers simply weren’t concentrating and rear ended the car in front at about 5-10 mph. Neither speed cameras nor a points system would have avoided these incidents’
That’s because they are not supposed to stop those incidents. They are supposed to stop the more dangerous incidents caused by breaking speed limits. You know, the ones in which people get killed and seriously injured.
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43; that means that old people must have bigger ones. Racing drivers must be, ahem, deprived. Does size increase with age? Answers on a (small) post card please.
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Why would you sue your phone, Warren J?
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Cyclist at 37, the law allows you to hold a mobile phone while the vehicle is not moving. Like most cyclists, you don’t seem to know the law, whether it comes to red traffic lights, pavements, no entry signs or indeed mobile phones. Ignorance, of course, is no defence, so let’s see some our lycra-clad high-pitched friends in court, please.
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‘Why can we not plaster our roads with the modern speed bumps that are used in villages in the uk that are like two flat top pyramids in the road’
Yeah, brilliant idea then we can all drive over the punishments intended for malefactors and all get jolted to varying degrees whatever the speed and shake our cars to s*d*my.
Maybe you’d like to see them in your road knowing that you will have to drive over them every time you come and go and if you are trying to sell your house prospective buyers will wonder if it’s a road with a problem.
Believe me, that’s how it is on the mainland.
I’m surprised that Mr Tabb hasn’t supported this idea but, judging by his attire, maybe he only represents the new car trade and not the tyre, suspension and exhaust repairers.
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# 45 ‘Does size increase with age?’
It does with ears and noses so perhaps the same goes for other appendages!
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Agree cyclists blatently ignore the law, run red lights, ride on pavement, ignore no entry. I hate it when the buggers ride on the outsside of a queue of traffic and place themselves at the front causing the cars behind to reduce to a crawl before an overtaking opportunity presents itself, same with mopeds.
St. Clement speed reduction is a fiasco and completely unnecessary how one man can decide for the island I don’t know – bloody idiot!
Speeding is NOT the issue, it’s bad driving, bad drivers are dangerous at any speed and determined speeders ignore speed limits whatever they are ( gettin this ex sen Len )
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As a cyclist myself once I always obeyed the rules of the road like any other road user as taught in the cycling proficiency test. Do they still do these? Anyway it angers me to see cyclists jumping lights, using pavements to skip lights and swinging quickly the wrong way onto one-way roads. (been lucky to avoid accidents due to the latter)
However I disagree with your comments regarding cyclists and moped users and in fact 2 wheeled road users in general filtering to the front of traffic queues. We are the road users that emitt less or no emissions, ease congestion especially at peak times, make it easier for you in your car to find a parking space and put up with the elements in the winter. It is your responsibility to overtake vulnerable road users in the correct manner even if it requires patience.
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My view on push bikes on pavements is:
What damage a cyclist can cause to a pedestrian on a pavement?
What damage a car can cause to a cyclist on the road?
If I don’t feel safe on the road and if there is nobody on the pavement I will ride on the pavement without a doubt. And it doesn’t block the traffic as well.
And I ll agree with Leo. Mopeds filtering at the front when the light is red.
Car driver thinks they own the road behind their wheel.As soon as they get in their cars they turn to miserable drivers. 2 wheelers have to compromise a lot, and they are more understanding of each others.And breathing your exhaust pipe is not pleasant.
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A cyclist could kill or seriously injure a pedestrian if they hit them at speed.
My gripe with cyclists is their constant riding two abreast with no consideration for other road users behind them. Also their regular clustering in large groups in small country lanes making it all but impossible to overtake. This is not being considerate to other road users.
Also yacking to their numerous mates about what they did last night means they can’t be paying proper attention to the road which could cost them their lives or serious injury.
Just the other day two came round a blind corner side by side down a small country lane at speed and nearly hit me. With motor vehicles you at least get a warning of their approach no such thing with cyclists as they never ring their bells not that they seem to have them now.
However from a green angle cycling is good and it also helps keep people fitter.
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I notice a common bond on here of Honda Jazz ‘baiting’.
I have found that in the past this can be achieved to such an extent that the ‘Honda Jazz’ driver retires to a darkened room and primes the nurse alarm.
1. Point out that the Honda Jazz (Mark 3 onwards) was the first small vehicle to have full electrically operated steering that fully dissociated the driver with any road feedback.As such they must be very brave ‘early adopters’ . This alone has caused the more sensitive to vomit.
2.Etymology .
As with many words that began in slang, there is no definitive etymology for jazz. However, the similarity in meaning of the earliest jazz citations to jasm, a now-obsolete slang term meaning spirit, energy, vigor and dated to 1860 in the Historical Dictionary of American Slang, suggests that jasm should be considered the leading candidate for the source of jazz. A link between the two words is particularly supported by the Daily Californian’s February 18, 1916, article, which used the spelling jaz-m, although the context and other articles in the Daily Californian from this period show that jazz was intended.
Jasm is thought to derive from or be a variant of slang jism or gism, which the Historical Dictionary of American Slang dates to 1842 and defines as “spirit; energy; spunk.” Jism also means semen or sperm, the meaning that predominates today, causing jism to be considered a taboo word. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, however, jism could still be used in polite contexts. Jism, or its variant jizz (which, however, is not attested in the Historical Dictionary of American Slang until 1941), has also been suggested as a direct source for jazz. A direct derivation from jism is phonologically unlikely; jasm itself would be, according to this assumption, the intermediary form.
3. Suggest that being from Japan it must have an economical ‘rice powered ‘ variant or button underneath the dashboard near to the brake pedal. This has frequently resulted in Fire Service extraction.
Servers them right for slowing everyone else including electric wheelchairs, to a standstill
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GET A LIFE YOU LOT.
The economy is in meltdown, the Island is falling apart, everyone is being squeezed to death by ridiclous and unfair taxes, and ALL you lot are worried about is a bit of “speeding”.
Yes, there are a few accidents – there are everywhere – there is nothing you can do whatsoever to stop them..
Give it a rest.
Abolish ALL speed limits and let motorists get on with it. Then our overworked and overpaid Police would have some real work to do.
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So it seems that we have a contradiction in terms. “Jazz” suggests some energy or fast movement. A Honda Jazz, on the other hand, amounts to lack of energy and slow movement. It also amounts to a lack of turn signals.
Take another example. The Peduoda Nippa. This vehicle looks like a 1950s fridge with castors attached and is another mode of oap transport. It, too, has a name associated with movement and verve yet it is another vehicle which moves like a demented mollusc.
Perhaps this type of vehicle will serve to combat speeding in the sense that you can’t speed if you are stuck behind one of these things, usually after it has just pulled out in front of you after failing to give way at a yellow line.
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‘So it seems that we have a contradiction in terms. “Jazz” suggests some energy or fast movement’ (#53)
Not to me! It suggests confusion!
At least the Jazz bashers are diverting attention away from those of us with Nissan Micras. It’s not our fault they take five goes to parallel park. It’s their diabolical steering lock.
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Sounds like (yet another) job creation scheme for civil servants.
At present a Magistrate can take into account previous motoring offences when sentencing. and has the power to take a licence away.
FWIW, should simply make the rule that if you lose licence (for more than 3 months) – need to re-sit the test!
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The police just admitted that almost all accidents are due to carelessness and driver error – yet here we see SPEED demonised again! Getting a bit tiresome, isn’t it?
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