Evo v.i30 - "Middle Class" Speedsters

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Mon 9 Aug 2010 10:56
Evo v.i30 - "Middle Class" Speedsters - bintang

Julie Spence, outgoing Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire police, is quoted in the Daily Telegraph today as saying that "Speeding is middle-class... behaviour." I had not realised that there was a class dimension to speeding and I wonder how she established it. The term she uses is generally related to occupation. The middle classes are white collar workers, the working classes blue collar. This is not related to income and the ability to buy fast cars (though there can't me any current model that won't easily exceed 70 m.p.h.). I am a retired teacher, hence middle class. My son is a plumber, hence working class. He has earns more per month than I ever did and drives a Mtisubishi Evo while I have a Hyundai i30. Spence's comment could only make sense if she had established the "class" of speedsters in her patch. Otherwise, the faster she "outgoes" the better.

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Mon 9 Aug 2010 11:10
Evo v.i30 - "Middle Class" Speedsters - Collos25

How do these people get these jobs.

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Mon 9 Aug 2010 11:23
Evo v.i30 - "Middle Class" Speedsters - cheddar

Bintang, I get the point you are making, CC Spence's comments on speeding behaviour are a mass generalisation however your comments on class are likewise.

Also what has the Evo v i30 point got to do with it? I was cruising down the A303 last night at an indicated 75 ish and was overtaken by numerous vehicles with a fraction of the performance potential of my Focus ST. It is the driver that speeds excessively, not the car.

Edited by cheddar on 09/08/2010 at 11:24

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Mon 9 Aug 2010 12:01
Evo v.i30 - "Middle Class" Speedsters - bintang

I should have made clearer that Spence would not be able easily to define what class drivers belong to.

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Mon 9 Aug 2010 12:32
Evo v.i30 - "Middle Class" Speedsters - Armstrong Sid
By implication, is she also therefore saying that there aren't any (or very few) working class speeders?

What about the oiks in their Corsas and Saxos who screech around the roads in retail parks on Sunday nights? Are they all from genteel middle class homes where daddy is a doctor and mummy is a piano teacher?
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Mon 9 Aug 2010 12:36
Evo v.i30 - "Middle Class" Speedsters - jc2

Speed does NOT kill-the wrong speed does!

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Mon 9 Aug 2010 14:37
Evo v.i30 - "Middle Class" Speedsters - Dutchie

Still strong in my memory,my friend Harry got killed in front of my eyes,we where both five.I don't know if the driver was speeding or not all i remember Harry running across the road I tried to stop him but to late.Harry was dead .Thats why in a town or village i am very carefull driving.What class got to do with speeding i dont know silly statement.

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Mon 9 Aug 2010 14:38
Evo v.i30 - "Middle Class" Speedsters - Armitage Shanks {p}

Having checked the Cambridge Police Force/service performance figures the departure the incumbent can only be a good thing.

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Mon 9 Aug 2010 20:46
Evo v.i30 - "Middle Class" Speedsters - daveyjp

I can she where she is coming from. Speed cameras are a great class leveller and the middle classes are getting caught and as a result don't like it as they are 'law abiding' - what they mean is they don't break laws introduced to punish people who aren't like them - they don't steal, they don't mug etc etc etc so they are law abiding. To them speeding isn't breaking the law and this is her point.

How many times do you hear of someone who has been caught actually admit it was their fault? The answer is not many. I heard one today "I was doing 37 in a 30 because it is difficult to drive a modern eco friendly car at 30 in top gear".

No thought that top gear may not be the best idea in a 30 zone - OK in the car I learnt to drive in a Fiesta with 4 speeds (4th being good for 20-90), but in a 6 speed car it's a no no and HJ is guilty of this in the Polo 1.2TSi review - driving round in 6th at 30 does not use less fuel and it means more chance of 'speed creep'.

As suggested on her speed awareness course she now uses 3rd in 30 zones, but complains that she now has to look at her speedo! I can only assume from this that she never did before. I wonder what else she wasn't aware of whilst driving?

Edited by daveyjp on 09/08/2010 at 20:50

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Mon 9 Aug 2010 21:47
Evo v.i30 - "Middle Class" Speedsters - Sofa Spud

I think speeding is a vice that cuts across all social classes.

People speed for different reasons:

They might be in a hurry and preoccupied.

They might be an intrinsically impatient driver.

They could be driving in the course of a job where 'time is money' or they feel compelled to speed by the boss or the work culture of their company.

They might be unobservant and have failed to notice a speed limit sign

They might be a petrolhead speed freak who regards getting away with speeding as part of their game.

Edited by Sofa Spud on 09/08/2010 at 21:49

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Tue 10 Aug 2010 01:56
Evo v.i30 - "Middle Class" Speedsters - woodster
Poorly chosen words by CC Spence. Perhaps middle class now refers to the popular term: 'middle England'. I take this to mean those on middle incomes regardless of occupation, upbringing etc. But it seems strange to suggest that the middle classes are blighted by some way of thinking that everyone else is not. However, I can't help but be amused by the Mother from the converted barn over the road from me, who moans about 'speeders' through the village. Following her home through an adjacent village the other day- I'm at 30, she's off into the distance. Speed limits obviously only apply where she actually lives. I think this is the attitude that Ms. Spence refers to - it's everyone else doing something wrong, when frequently we are 'everyone else'.
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