Nuxx:Ecaddf33-ce77-4bbe-859f-75ce7ab5176d@n19g2000vba.googlegroups.com

Path: num2.nntp.dca.giganews.com!num1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!number.nntp.dca.giganews.com!border1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!postnews.google.com!n19g2000vba.googlegroups.com!not-for-mail Message-ID:  From: Nuxx Bar  Newsgroups: uk.rec.cycling Subject: Re: OT: Banned driver gets off. Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:51:28 -0700 (PDT) References:  <936c6561-30cc-4ea1-a349-b6cf779f1f2e@l12g2000yqo.googlegroups.com>    Lines: 42 Organization: http://groups.google.com NNTP-Posting-Host: 81.156.150.242 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Trace: posting.google.com 1245300689 18827 127.0.0.1 (18 Jun 2009 04:51:29 GMT) X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2009 04:51:29 +0000 (UTC) Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com Injection-Info: n19g2000vba.googlegroups.com; posting-host=81.156.150.242; posting-account=7_6kYAkAAABD6HrjM0VxehwvZOKMxm4g User-Agent: G2/1.0 X-HTTP-UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-GB; rv:1.9.0.11) Gecko/2009060215 Firefox/3.0.11 (.NET CLR 3.5.30729),gzip(gfe),gzip(gfe) Bytes: 3666 Xref: perfectly-safe.chapmancentral.co.uk uk.rec.cycling:830253

On Jun 17, 9:06=A0pm, Nobby Anderson  wrote: > Simon Brooke  wrote: > > On 17 June, 19:10, "Simon Mason"  wrote: > >> "Nuxx Bar"  wrote in message > > >> news:936c6561-30cc-4ea1-a349- > > >> >Being banned from driving used to be a real stigma: you had to have > >> >done something pretty dangerous and irresponsible, and the chances > >> >were that you deserved it. =A0Now, it's just an occupational hazard o= f > >> >driving; > > >> I have had a driving licence since 1974 and have never had more than t= hree > >> points. Once from 1978-1981 and again from 1996-1999. No "occupational > >> hazard " about it at all. Keep to the law and keep a clean licence, > > > Ditto - well, had a license since 1978, so four years fewer. It ain't > > hard. The car I drive nowadays even has a little adjustable speed > > alarm, which I have set to 60mph - if I go over that I get an audible > > warning. Very handy, but not exactly vital - if you can't drive at a > > steady speed you should not be driving at all. > > Me too, but since 1977. =A0Had 3 points once, in about 1980 when by pot l= uck > I was the first in a group and therefore the only one pulled, but them's > the breaks. =A0Didn't whine about it then, not going to whine about it > now. =A0I'm not sure how stupid you have to be to get 12 points, I don't > actually know anyone who's managed it, although I know a few who have > 6 or nine, but they've mostly figured out what caused it by then and > sorted it.

Licence since 1999; 3 points between 2002 and 2005 (speeding on the motorway, before anyone bleats about "endangering cyclists"). So we've all been relatively lucky. But god help anyone who drives high mileage on major routes during weekdays (i.e. the times and places where it's most profitable for the mobile scammers). You only have to get caught 4 times in 3 years; *everyone* speeds a *hell* of a lot more than 4 times in 3 years. In the end, it's down to pure chance, and it shouldn't be: it should be down to whether you're genuinely reckless and irresponsible enough to warrant a ban. Shouldn't it?