- published: 23 Nov 2015
- views: 6461151
Speed limit enforcement is the action taken by appropriately empowered authorities to check that road vehicles are complying with the speed limit in force on roads and highways. Methods used include roadside speed traps set up and operated by the police and automated roadside 'speed camera' systems which may incorporate the use of an automatic number plate recognition system. Traditionally, the police would have used stopwatches to measure the time taken for a vehicle to cover a known distance, but more recently, they have had speed guns and automated in-vehicle systems at their disposal.
Controversy arises when there is a perception that speed limits in a given location are being set and enforced primarily to collect revenue rather than improve traffic safety.
Traffic calming was built into the 1865 Locomotive Act in the UK, which set a speed limit of 2 miles per hour (3.2 km/h) in towns and 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h) out of town, by requiring a man with a red flag to walk 60 yards (55 m) ahead of qualifying powered vehicles. The distance ahead of the pedestrian crew member was reduced to 20 yards (18 m) in 1878 and the vehicles were required to stop on the sight of a horse. The speed limit was effectively redundant as vehicle speeds could not exceed the speed at which a person could walk.
Speeding
(Caffey/Wiedlin)
I can't explain the way I feel
Each time I get behind the wheel
The rush of blood comes
As the power surges
And my right foot urges
The car to push on through the night
Driving faster
Driving past the scenery
On pretty view and
Feel the speed and
I don't dream of
Driving slow some other time
One thing I'm certain that I know
All I want to do is go go go
Everything is rushing by
My heart is pounding deep inside
Got to match the engine's pace
Win imaginary race - yeah!
Driving faster
Driving past the scenery
On pretty view and
I feel as though I've
Got to control my
Reckless need to speed and speed
And speed
And speed
And speed
And speed...