Ladies and Gentlemen, Start your Engines!

Welcome 2014!

So far, we are doing well in ending the old year with fewer people dead from road clashes. It seems that either the road hooligans are growing up and learning to stop being stupid, or they died along the way. For instance, at our new year dinner at a restaurant there were two designated drivers who remained absolutely sober with the responsibility of getting everyone home safely. Deaths on Valencia's road fell by a third over last year, so the message is getting home.

We will have to wait and see what the final figures are country-wide for the year. I can only hope that they too will be down on last year. No where is it written that when you get your driving permit you have to die on the road.

During 2014 we will have to be aware that the DGT now has another weapon at it's disposal. If you are tagged speeding by radar, the following questions will be considered: How fast were you travelling over the limit? Are you driving while impaired? Is your permit in order? Is your car insured by a policy that is currently in force? And, is your car's ITV still current? Even before the officer approaches your car he will know the answer to most of those questions.

It gets worse than that. In my country people have to pass certain points every day to and from work where there are very sophisticated cameras that record your car's number and your picture and feed that information to a computer that checks all of those questions. You are then sent mandatory fines for infractions that you may be committing every day. You could find yourelf with ten days worth of fines to pay, provided that you immediately stop driving until you get the problems fixed.

That could take all of the joy out of being alive!

Stay safe and free of driving fines!

Happy New Year!

Copyright (c) 2014  Eugene Carmichael