Interestingly enough, the "cost" to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance of this incident is many thousands of pounds in the negative! The size of the donations received as a result of the appeal resulting from the publicity outweighs the cost of the single operation manyfold.

As for this misguided speed-limiter scenario, it is always safer to have a safe margin between your normal speed and the vehicle's limits, and faster vehicles tend to also come with better braking and suspension systems. My vehicle is capable of exceeding any UK limit by about 60%, but I drive at either the speed limit or the limit of the conditions, whichever is lower, exceptional circumstances notwithstanding.

I found the margin most useful yesterday, when overtaking (at a legal speed) a car determined to speed up and prevent me getting past. Given that his chav mate behind did likewise, I had only the option of accelerating in order to avoid an accident. Having previously survived an accident where I met an overtaking car coming the other way on a blind bend with a closing speed of about 120mph, I did indeed report both registration numbers to the police, although in the absence of witnesses, they will do between nothing and f@ck all.

Most of the problems on the roads are not due to speed, but inappropriate use of speed. If you look at the accident statistics published by their percentage causes (e.g. for 2004 fatalities, excessive speed 45%, alcohol 25%, drugs 10%, driver error 35%, road conditions 65% approx.) you will see that the percentages add up to way over 100%. Most accidents have multiple causes, and generating revenue for the police by targeting speeders is a lot easier than improving surface condition and signage on the roads, for example.