Government to Clamp Down on Speeders   Road users who break the speed limit just twice could lose their licence under new Government proposals.   Announced as part of a consultation paper on speeding offences on British roads, the news comes as just one of the measures outlined for action on the most dangerous road users. Among the list of topics under discussion are formal drug-drive limits too, something which currently does not exist, whilst bringing the limit for the drink-drive limit down is also being debated.   Jim Fitzpatrick, Road Safety Minister, said: "This is about being fair to the motorist who is behaving and it is about cracking down on those who are recklessly endangering others." Under the new rules, which were first discussed by roads ministers and campaign groups four years ago, if you ride at 90mph or more on the motorway, and get caught for that twice you will lose your licence because each offence would carry six points instead of the current three. Lesser speeding offences could also see the points dropped from three to two.                                                                                                                                                                               

If only speed was the real issue..... (inappropriate speed, yes... but not speed per se...)                                                                                                                                                                             

Why do they need a formal drug-drive "limit"?

If it's an offence to possess a class A substance, does it matter if the substance is in your pocket or in your blood stream? Why discuss it? The "limit" has to be zero, surely?

Either it's illegal or it's not.

You can't really go around saying "Oh it's OK, I've only stuck one line of powder up my nose, I'm under the limit" FFS! lol

As for speeding... what TC said.

the trouble with speeding is that not all motorists can except that its about being responsible when choosing how fast you need to be going.  It is a choice we make when we get in our cars/bikes ect.  i agree with TC and wannabe but unfortunatey we live in a world with a clogged up highways and many many people who have little or no understanding of the responsibility of being behind the wheel of machines that have the potential to kill!!                                                                                                                                                                             

I make you right DS... but I'm of a mind that it's a hell of a lot safer to be travelling at 90mph + on a relatively clear motorway, than it is to be travelling at 35mph in a built up/residential area.

What are they going to define as a "lesser" speeding offence, if they're deciding to make 90 on a motorway the "greater"?

You know what the streets are like round my way... I was driving along them at under 20mph long before they brought the 20mph limits in, yet you still get the eejits in their stupid little Novas whizzing around the streets at 40. That, to me, is a much more irresponsible and risky use of speed.

Trouble is that speed is a rough and ready indicator of how well or badly someone's driving, and that it's easily measured robotically. What we've lost is an electronic equivalent of being pulled in by a bobby and given a stiff ticking off and being asked to produce your documents. Policeman's done his bit for road safety cos you ain't gonna do it again (well, not right now, anyway), and you've been put to some inconvenience for your sins, and nothing else is gonna happen. That discretion's gone now, to say nothing of the fact that the old way didn't raise any funds. I've jusr realised that my one and only SP30 came after I was distracted on the motorway and was too slow to catch on the limit had dropped. A perfectly legal 72mph became illegal in a 50mph area. 20+mph over the limit - I'd have been in the Tower of London under the new rules *gulp* AFAIK if you're under the influence of an illegal drug, but haven't got any on you in unconsumed form, then that doesn't count as possession.                                                                                                                                                                             

I know Wills - I was just being facetious ;o)

It's a moot point. No need for "discussion" about "limits" if the stuff's illegal. Waste of my tax pennies as far as I'm concerned. The "limit" can ONLY be zero, otherwise it makes a complete mockery of the illegal status of such substances in the first place.

yea its either illegal or its not. Whats the staus of weed in the uk now?   Oh and what about if you're spiked when you're out?  About 4 weeks ago, Laura was spiked (GHB we think) when out partying.  Luckily she wasn't/doesn't drive, but what if she had been?  What if she'd been out drinking coke all night and then got spiked by some arsehole?  If she was a driver, she might have driven home thinking "I must be ill, I've not had anything to drink but don't feel right". Then when pulled over for driving weird, gets tested and locked up.   That's why you can only be done for possesion i think, cos it might not have been your choice that the substance was in your system.  But if you didn't choose to be spiked in a club, how can you be blamed for taking anything?   Alcohol is different, you clearly make the choice to drink and get in a car.  You can't be over the limit cos someone slipped some ale into your steak pie.  :-)   But other things aint gonna be so clear-cut.   Saying that, i think most people with drugs in their system probably took it themselves, but Laura didn't the other week and she could theoretically be a victim of the new law                                                                                                                                                                             

I don't think they've made their mind up again on weed... there was a call to Class A it a while back... I think it might have been put back to B from C?

Valid argument re: the spiking.

Had a spate of that in a pub I used to do the door on. One poor woman was found wandering the streets 3 hours after the pub shut, bloody, bruised, raped, ripped clothes etc... no memory whatsoever... after one glass of wine :o(

I turned into a flipping one-woman vigilante team... desperately trying to remember whether women had arrived with the blokes they were leaving with, questioning them on their way out to make sure they weren't being persuaded under duress to leave with the blokes they were with!

Gave a bunch of total bimbos a right talking to... they'd left a bottle of wine on the side when they went off for a dance, returned to find the cork removed and came running up to me to ask me to keep an eye on them cos they were worried it might've been spiked.

Say what?!

I'm not yer personal bodyguard! Tip the wine away, buy a new bottle. Nah. Too tight for that, they'd rather run the risk of drinking it and expect ME to pick up the pieces after.

It can be a nasty world out there...

In the UK Matt, if your caught with weed then depending on the quantity then it can be delt with on the roadside. the weed is confiscated and you are given a caution. get caught again and it is down the nick with you.   the drink drive and drug drive limit should be 0 in my opinion. we have all had one pint and got in the car but realistically even one pint will have an effect on the body.                                                                                                                                                                             

I don't know about the status of weed generally in Britain Matt, but there are a few down the side of my house!                                                                                                                                                                             

As usual they miss the point, various forces have trialed drug test kits which identify heroin,cocaine,cannabis,amphetamines etc. What they dont test for are prescription tranquilizers, anti histamines, beta blockers, SSRIs (Prozac et al) all of which can seriously impair reactions and judgement.  There was an estimate that around 20% of drivers are under the influence of some form of medication. Thinking about the number of people who never notice the big loud bike with bright lights I suspect 20% may be a conservative estimate.