Concorde, Mallard and Bluebird – all have become household names for the same thing: speed.
But what about William Avery-Wright? Or Henry Nugent? Both were victims of the same thing that makes those engineering feats so memorable.
For the families of both the young boys who were killed on our county’s roads there is no celebrating.
Every day their loved ones will no doubt ask themselves “why us?”, query “what if?”, and wonder if there was anything else they could have done.
The truth is they couldn’t have done any more; but the drivers involved in the incidents perhaps could.
Everyone can agree that a human life lost on the streets is a terrible waste.
But the truth is this is very quickly forgotten when most of us get behind the wheel of a vehicle and turn on the engine.
As soon as the diesel fumes waft into the nostrils, normal, sane reasoned people turn into possessed petrolheads with a hatred for everyone and everything in their path.
At the moment, the one-eyed monster of motoring has its gaze firmly fixed on one thing: 20mph.
The last few weeks has seen the debate around the widespread restrictions in Brighton and Hove accelerate.
On the one hand is Green-led local authority, supported by a range of campaigners. On the other are taxi drivers, tourism bosses, car lobbyists, business owners.
Stuck in the middle is the rest of the city who want safe streets but also want to be able to get from A to B as quickly as possible.
It is a debate that has moved beyond politeness into Machiavellian scheming that Damian McBride would be proud of.
Threats of judicial reviews, leaked confidential emails, anonymous adverts in newspapers, anonymous complaints to advertising watchdogs about the anonymous adverts – brains on both sides are working faster than 20mph to try to out-sly the opponents.
But let’s be clear on one thing – this is not just a Green pet project. The proposed limits across the suburban parts of the city have been supported by all three political parties.
And despite what opponents say there is evidence out there that it makes streets safer and more attractive. This in turn means that people ditch their cars for walking and cycling.
It is for exactly this reason why I believe that 20 is plenty and the proposed limits are a great idea. But do I obey the limits? Do I hell.
But it’s safer having people travel at 25mph in a 20 limit than 35mph in a 30 limit. And I’ll be honest, the possessed petrolhead in me is slowly starting to mellow.
At first the need for speed made me curse anyone travelling less than 28mph. But now I’m starting to relax behind the wheel and feeling less like a demonic driver and more like a casual chauffeur.
So let’s forget about all the environmental arguments behind whether 20mph is a good thing for our city.
When discussing the restrictions let’s just think about those youngsters whose deaths may have been averted by safer streets.
By killing your speed you might just dampen that inner demon bubbling inside you.
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