Dazed & Confused?

Putting your foot down

Confused.com’s Owe Carter would like your opinion: is the speed limit on the motorway set at the right level?

Over half of all motorists exceed the speed limit on motorways, and 16 per cent exceed 80mph.

Those are the statistics reported in the Department for Transport’s Road Statistics 2009: Traffic, Speeds and Congestion, which was published last month.

These statistics may not surprise you. After all, the speed limit for UK motorways was set in 1965, and cars have become considerably more powerful since then. Nowadays, it’s all too easy to be cruising at a speed in excess of the speed limit without realising it. Well, actually that’s not true for my car, which starts shaking when I hit 70mph (this isn’t a ‘feature’, by the way – just a coincidence). But the point remains.

So, over half of motorists break the law. This can get the motorist a fine, points on their licence, and send car insurance prices soaring. And yet they still do it.

Does that mean that half of all drivers are irresponsible, and that if they get a speeding ticket, they get what we deserve? Or do you think that the speed limit should move with the times and be raised, so that fewer motorists are penalised for things that they’re going to do anyway? Perhaps you think there should be no speed limit on the motorway, just like on the Autobahn (or, as I’ve just learned, on the Isle of Man)? Whatever your views, I’d love to hear from you.

Also, please bear in mind that I’m only talking about the national speed limit here – not the limit for built-up areas and so on.

Clamping down on the clampers

Confused.com's Owe Carter considers the issue of private wheel clampers, and invites you to share any personal experiences you may have had with them.

Having your car clamped is no fun. It's easy to take a hard line on this and proclaim that people who park where they shouldn't get what they deserve. But in practice life is seldom so simple, and this is an area that the unscrupulous have been willing to exploit time and time again.

The AA has identified an array of iffy tactics commonly used by clampers, which includes concealed signage, the use of decoy vehicles, and deliberate targeting of more vulnerable members of society - such as the elderly, disabled, or women with children.

 
Ever got back to your car and found something like this?

It's also possible to make the argument that - unless the car is later towed for being parked dangerously or causing a genuine obstruction - clamping is a counter-intuitive punishment for the crime at hand. After all, if a vehicle is supposedly causing an obstruction to the private landowner, then why reinforce the obstruction by immobilising the vehicle? Seen in this light, it's difficult to see clamping as much other than opportunism and a license to print money. If a private landowner's security employee sees someone parking in an unauthorised spot, why wait until they leave before clamping the car when they could just as easily ask the motorist politely to move on? It's all about the coin.

Not convinced? Then take the example of an elderly chap with both hips replaced who was clamped and instructed to cough up £100 in cash. He duly went to a cashpoint to fetch it, and on his return was told to hand over a further £55 to cancel a towing vehicle that he was told had been ordered in his time away from the car. Back to the cashpoint, then. On a cold Sunday night. I defy you to find someone who believes this is fair play. Anecdotal evidence perhaps, but The AA and RAC have received thousands of complaints concerning similar practices.

Rosie Winterton, the Labour MP for Doncaster Central, has been campaigning against private wheel clampers for the last 14 years. She tells Confused.com:

"I first became involved in the issue of private wheel clamping companies when I realised the extent of the misery and distress rogue clampers were causing not only in Doncaster but in hotspots around the country.

"There are countless stories of truly unacceptable practices from some companies which target vulnerable elderly people, young mothers with children and, frankly, people who can least afford it.  These people are being stung for large amounts of money as companies use every trick in the book to get round the law.

"The most common complaints I have heard concern companies that have concealed signs covered with minute writing which make it impossible to read that it is a private car park, extortionate removal fees – often charging two or three times for the same parking transgression – once for clamping, once for towing away and again for storage, a lack of any proper appeals procedure, the use of mobile phones that are not answered, and demanding cash only – no other form of payment such as cheques or debit cards – which has led to people being frogmarched to cash points with the clampers standing over them to make sure they come up with the money."

The Crime and Security Act 2010 now provides that individual private clampers need to be licensed by the Security Industry Authority. However, is the introduction of the Act enough? The AA claim that cowboys "continue to clamp with impunity". Rosie Winterton would also take things further:

"The law is now in place to end these bad practices once and for all. I am pushing the new Government to introduce the regulations needed to make the law work in practice. Until regulations are introduced, drivers will continue to be terrorised by a small but active number of rogue wheel clampers."

Have you had any experiences with clampers? Do you think it's an area that needs to be tightened up, or - as is the case in Scotland - should private clamping be outlawed entirely? Whatever your opinion, I'd be happy to hear from you - so feel free to comment below. Also, if you've been clamped, you can learn your rights here.

UPDATE 18 August 2010: The government has since proposed a ban on private-land clamping and towing. Read more about the clamping ban here.