Following up to Tom Anderson

its a matter of balance, being reasonably safe while being able to get a
reasonable move on etc.

Exactly. We balance safety against freedom to move; the balance at present
indicates that we value the convenience we currently have more than a
couple of thousand lives a year. Or rather, the convenience we would stand
to lose if we tightened up on safety against the hundreds of lives we'd
save by doing it.

As one of the safer countries roadwise, we are probably near the
point where saving more lives requires disporortionate arbitary
restrictions like driving at 10mph, thats why I advocate using
more intelligent approaches like the use of matching speed to
conditions.
--
Mike Reid
Walk-eat-photos UK "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Walk-eat-photos Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap