Whoa Richard... Did someone hit a nerve or something?
To be honest, I have to agree with most of what you said... Especially about the reduced speed limits.
I think that because the world has gone so litigation crazy that everyone is just trying to cover their own ass these days, because if you dont someone will sue you for something sooner or later, even if it wasnt entirely (or even remotely) your fault... All it takes is a loophole.
What I dont understand though are the laws governing which vehicles are classed as "roadworthy" and which arent...
Why is it that every day I see 20 to 30 year old old bombs driving around pumping out blue smoke from their exhausts which are barely held on by fencing wire, have buckled wheels and no tread left on their tyres driving on our roads when perfectly good condition cars like Skylines, Supras, WRX's etc are picked on by cops and inspectors all the time for being "unroadworthy"??
I had better stop there cos I could rant about this stuff all day