Islandwide speed limit warning

By Garth Rattray

IT WAS a sunny and quiet Sunday and I was driving into St Andrew at 60-something kilometres per hour (km/h) as I approached Moneague in St Ann. I was comfortable at this mild speed with the open, empty road, totally unpopulated, lined only by trees, grasslands, bushes, and rocks.

I was slowing down as I approached a clearly visible 50km/h sign when I noticed two traffic policemen doing speed checks a few metres beyond it on the other side of the road. It didn't bother me because I was down to 50km/h when I paralleled the sign on the left.

One policeman walked across the road and raised his right hand, ordering me to stop. As far as I was concerned, I was obeying the posted speed limit, so I figured that I was being stopped in order for my documents to be checked.

When the policemen greeted me respectfully and announced that I was speeding, I was sure that he was either mistaken or about to try to extort money from me. He didn't get the opportunity to quote my speed because I started off telling him that I was not going faster than 50km/h when I got to the speed limit sign. To my utter surprise, he explained that the speed limit from Ocho Rios all the way into Spanish Town is 50km/h!

He went on to explain that there were no 80km/h speed limit signs along the way, that it wasn't a highway, and that the speed limit was, therefore, always 50km/h. He noted that crashes occur on the road occasionally. I told him that it was all news to me.

Truth be told, according to research findings, the safest maximum speed is about 40km/h (25 mph). However, in this fast-paced world, on this ever-shrinking planet, we find it necessary to cover vast distances as quickly as possible and we sacrifice some degree of safety in order to do so.

Until technology becomes affordable enough so that on-board computers will be in every vehicle to slow or stop them to avoid crashes and/or satellite-guided, pre-programmed vehicles become standard, we will continue sacrificing lives for speed.

So there I was, asking the traffic cop what documents he needed to see in order to give me the speeding ticket. He never asked me for money and, to my surprise, he said that he was only going to give me a warning. I expressed my gratitude, but the rest of the way home I mused about what had transpired.

assumed speed limit

A lot of the roadway between Ocho Rios and Spanish Town is not populated, yet the speed limit is 50km/h. With the exception of the toll road (which has a 110km/h posted speed limit in most places), there are no 80km/h speed limit signs until one gets on to a portion of the Spanish Town Bypass (which is not a highway and is populated) and then on to a stretch of the Mandela Highway.

We were all told that we are to assume that the speed limit in built-up areas is 50km/h so, naturally, we also assume that the speed limit in obviously remote areas is, therefore, 80km/h. After driving for more than 40 years, I now learn that I've been assuming erroneously.

Speed limits are not set by the constabulary; the police enforce them. The powers that be need to review speed limits in unpopulated areas. Driving at 50km/h is painfully slow and 'forces' everyone to exceed it at some point along very long journeys like the one from Spanish Town to Ocho Rios.

No doubt, speeding results in carnage on our roads, but the main causes of road fatalities are improper overtaking, following too closely, and careless/dangerous driving. Those actions need far more monitoring.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.