Bad news for all you petrol-head lawyers out there. If buying a sports-car was a priority for you as a high-flying young lawyer, then you might want to think again. Aside from the obvious issues; credit crunch, petrol prices, being ostracised by your green friends etc etc; there are now moves to reduce the national speed limit to 50mph. The reduction, to be imposed as early as next year, will affect two thirds of the country’s road network.

So, if escaping the city at the weekend for a bit of spirited driving a al Jeremy Clarkson is your thing, then get down to your local cosmetic surgeon dealership smartish. With the credit crunch biting, there are apparently plenty of cheap deals knocking about and facing the prospect of falling house prices and high inflation on the upturn, at least you might have some fun with your house deposit before it becomes worthless.

The government plans will cut the national speed limit from 60mph to 50mph on most of Britain’s roads and ministers want to use average speed cameras to enforce the new limits – the cameras monitor speeds over distances of up to six miles and have already been installed at 43 locations. Unsurprisingly, Speed Check Services, the company behind the cameras, claims the number of deaths or serious injuries at its sites has fallen on average by 60%. Oh what a public-spirited organisation they must be.

What they don’t say is by what percentage local plod revenues have risen…