I was typing this up as a reply to a comment Ross made on a recent Uddertorial about Drink Driving. Given it turned into a bit of an essay, I thought it would be better to post it here.

Say I am driving down a hill, notice my speed exceeds the speed limit by 1km/h, so I take action to correct it, but still get done for exceeding the speed limit. Extreme example I know, but please bear with me.
Now alcohol in the bloodstream is not as easily fixed as applying the brakes in a car. You can’t just go an eat a kebab at 3am, to sober up, even though many have tried. So what is wrong with a law that clearly states you can not drink and then go out and drive?

As for speeding, what is a bigger issue on the roads? The driver who does 103km/h in a 100 zone, or the driver who does 80km/h to show other drivers you still get there just as quick, and don’t get a speeding fine. Or what about the driver who is constantly checking they are sitting right on the limit (according to their speedo), but in doing so has their eyes off the road for extended periods of time?
Why is it that now the Northern Territory has introduced a 130km/h, there has been an increase in incidents, compared with when the same roads had an open speed limit?
Why do we have arbitrary speed limits, telling us a certain speed is safe, when it is better to drive according to the conditions of the road, the vehicle, the driver, other road users? For example, in school zones, where the limit is 40km/h, sometimes I will drive at 40km/h, others at walking pace, because I am driving according to the conditions.
Would it be safe for me to drive in peak hour traffic at 100km/h because the sign says that is the limit, or am I better driving at the 20km/h pace set by the amount of traffic on the road?

When it comes to speed limits, too much emphasis is placed on a number. 100, 80, 60, 50, 40, the list goes on an on, and that is part of the problem. Not enough education goes into driver training in this country. Instead we learn a few rules, get told to look out for the signs, and here is your photo id. Australians on the whole don’t know how to drive vehicles. Broad statement I know, but the truth often hurts. If people had a better understanding of what driving is, speeding would not be as big an issue as it is today. I say not as big an issue, because there are still hoons out there, due to how easy it is to get a licence, and how powerful vehicles are, when they don’t need to be. A good place to start, to stop hooning is to limit the vehicles new drivers can get. I’m not just talking about power to weight ratios, only allow them front wheel drive, automatic transmission cars. Ban them from having performance enhancing components on those vehicles. Then, after they have done a year with a probationary licence, make them sit the driving test again, then a year later, make them do it again. Then in the final year of their probationary period, teach them to drive bigger more powerful vehicles, and have them go for their licence again in a bigger more powerful vehicle.

I know, that is too much, it would cost too much, it would take too long. Well get off the naysayer high horse I say, and think about the real cost to the community that a lower road toll would bring, because we have better trained drivers on our roads.

If governments were serious about catching speeding drivers, they would have more police out on the roads catching them. The sight of a police vehicle with lights flashing makes people slow down. Getting a letter a few weeks later in the mail makes people angry, it doesn’t make them slow down while driving at the time of driving.

If you want a good place to start for what should be the minimum standards for getting a licence, check out what happens in Sweden. Maybe then, speeding wont be an issue, or am I just looking at the numbers the wrong way?