I went for a run this morning. Luckily where I live, to the south of Bristol, there are plenty of fields and cycle tracks to run across. However, to get to them I have to run down a single track road. The speed limit is the National Speed Limit, so in theory someone can travel 60 miles per hour, if the conditions are safe to do so.

This morning a white van was driving towards me, and I could hear a car coming in the opposite direction also. The white van could see me, and see that I had nowhere to go, but I was not going to stop him on his very important journey. After all, the extra 5 seconds he saved must have made his day. He carried on driving, forcing me to mount what there was of a bank to avoid being taken out by him, whilst his passengers shouted obscenities at me.

Now that is ok for me, I am big enough and ugly enough to take care of myself, but a similar thing happened with my 11 year old daughter. She was on her bike whilst my wife and her parents walked behind. A car hurtled past without giving more than a few inches of space. If my daughter had wobbled on her bike at that point she would have been taken out by his car. My father in law waved his arm out to the side to suggest the driver should have given more space, so the driver slammed on his brakes, got out of his car, and shouted that the speed limit is 60mph and he was only doing 55mph! This was a businessman justifying his reckless driving by saying he was driving within the speed limit.

What has happened to common sense? Surely if you see a child on a bike you have to make some allowance for the fact that he or she may swerve a little. When there are pedestrians too doesn’t it make sense to slow down, even just a little?

Section 125 of the Highway Code states:

"The speed limit is the absolute maximum and does not mean it is safe to drive at that speed irrespective of conditions. Driving at speeds too fast for the road and traffic conditions is dangerous. You should always reduce your speed when;

• the road layout or condition presents hazards, such as bends
• sharing the road with pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders, particularly children, and motorcyclists
• weather conditions make it safer to do so
• driving at night as it is more difficult to see other road users"

Forgetting what the law says and common sense, causing death by dangerous driving can carry a 10 year prison sentence, along with the social stigma of having killed someone.

I know we all lead busier and busier lives now, but please think about pedestrians and children when on single track roads. Please kill your speed limit on these single track roads, not a person.

1stClaims, Preventing Accidents When We Can, Picking Up The Pieces When We Can’t