Slow down or drive safely? Despite what the authorities are trying to brainwash drivers into believing the two are not synonymous.

So I’m going to sound like a stuck record yet again on the subject of holiday driving, but so is everyone else when talking about road deaths and speed limits during holiday periods, so why should I be any different?

These depressing thoughts struck me yet again as the Christmas/New Year period ended and the road toll continued to be virtually unchanged — up in some areas, much the same in others, thankfully down in a few places.

As usual the holiday period began with politicians who have little or no knowledge of driving, spouting off about road safety and quoting misleading numbers about the percentage of crashes caused by exceeding speed limits.

Then the police issued dire warnings about being everywhere and promised we would all get caught for speeding sooner rather than later.