That’s the warning from a judge during a recent case brought against Dr Shanthi Chandran who was driving at 28mph in a 30mph zone in Oxfordshire in 2018.

Sadly, at the time, a 12 year-old girl stepped on to a pedestrian crossing while the light was green for traffic – and was hit by Dr Chandran’s BMW i3.

The girl has been left with “cognitive and psychiatric problems” because of the incident.

While the doctor had not been charged with any criminal offence, the judge was asked by the girl’s mother to decide who was liable for the incident.

Too fast for conditions

Judge Dexter Dias ruled that Dr Chandran was going driving too fast for the conditions – even though she was driving under the speed limit at the time.

Because it was a dark and rainy Monday morning, the judge stated that the doctor was driving at an “excessive, unsafe and unreasonable” speed and was not paying “sufficient attention to hazards and other road users”.

The judge subsequently ruled the doctor was 60% liable for the incident and the girl was 40% liable.

“While this case is not about a fatality, it shows yet again how dangerous it is to drive at excessive and unreasonable speed,” said Judge Dias.

The ruling clears the way for the mother of the child to continue suing the doctor for damages.

Speed limit, not speed target

It is a common misconception that you can drive just below the speed limit.

However, it’s important to remember that the speed limit is just that – the maximum speed you can drive at and is not a target that must be hit whatever the conditions.

The Highway Code states:

The speed limit is the absolute maximum and does not mean it is safe to drive at that speed irrespective of conditions … Driving at speeds too fast for the road and traffic conditions is dangerous. You should always reduce your speed when:

  • The road layout or condition presents hazards, such as bends
  • Sharing the road with pedestrians, particularly children, older adults or disabled people, cyclists and horse riders, horse drawn vehicles and motorcyclists
  • Weather conditions make it safer to do so
  • Driving at night as it is more difficult to see other road users.​​

Know Your Code

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Main image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay