Speeding ....again

And if you don't have it? 1mph we are talking? So anyone who accidentally for a fraction of a second goes 1mph over the speed limit should pack in driving? Well that would sort all the problems. No congestion no accidents

 

Isn't it more a case that the speed limits we have set(on motorways in particular) are simply outdated? I may be wrong, or just understood, but I saw somewhere the "70mph" limit was worked out by taking into account the stopping distance of the average car in(I think) the 70's. Modern cars have the ability to stop(and accelerate) much quicker that their 70's counterparts. So shouldn't the speed limits be altered accordingly?

Like I say, I may have completely got the wrong end of the stick, so I apologise if so...

 

If you would be able to brake twice as hard, you would only be allowed to go 40% faster. Braking is a linear process whereas speed builds up energy quadratically.

This is just an extreme example. But if braking would be 20% more efficient now, only a 10% increase would be needed to negate that efficiency.

So my point is, you wouldn't be able to go as much faster as you would expect given improvements in technology.

 

Why are people so hung up on this topic?
The simple facts are these:
The faster one drives the more likely of an accident.- how many people have said clear road no traffic - not realising that there could be unexpected events eg wild animals
The speed limit is a MAXIMUM permitted - one does not have to drive on the speed limit
So many people set on a journey not giving themselves adequate time
Too many people use cars for needless journeys
Many drivers pride themselves (or their cars) on the acceleration (0-60 mph in x seconds) of their car (methinks big fast car = small todger)

 

I used to think thats how it worked. I got the slowest car possible in the hopes my t'old lad would get bigger. But in the end I just ended up with a small car and a Wallnut Whip-eque willy....

 

Faster equals more chance of accident?

Wrong. Just wrong.

One does not have to drive at the limit?

True - but you cause hazards at speeds way below it and can be prosecuted for this.

This is from the daily mail, awful rag, but the study isnt theirs.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2016721/Slow-drivers-dangerous-roads-cause-crashes.html

This is the same fluffy jobsworth kind of attitude that says ‘if I’m doing 70mph I shouldn’t have to pull into the inside lane if it’s clear, as no one can go faster than me’.

If a clear dry road with no traffic had no effect on safe speed then why is it a core learning point on advanced driving courses and for specialist police drivers? I’ve not seen the episode of traffic cops where they don’t pursue a joy rider as he was going a bit fast and they can’t go as quick in case a hedgehog walks out.

 

I would like to point out as a former DoT driving Instructor that the following applied in the driving test...
'You must make normal progress to suit varying road and traffic conditions' Repeated failure to do so e.g. spending too long at a junction, con sitently driving below the speed limit on a clear road etc would result in the candidate failing the test. It was therefore recognised that driving unduly slowly was considered a dangerous fault . The practical driving test used to categorise errors 1 minor infringments (more than a certain number would result in a fail), a potentially dangerous action or non-action or a dangerous action or dangerous non action -1 or more of either would result in a fail and the latter, depending on the seriousness, may have even resulted in an abandoned test.

 

Zero tolerance...maybe he should apply it to his own force first then wheel it out to the rest of the boys in blue..... take note how many of the police cars vans drive above 30 on local roads ... i was once going down wakefield road heading towards athersley following a marked police car whilst driving a bus.
speed limit is 30mph

The police car was doing 40/ 45 at times and staying the right braking distance behind him i was doing the same speed... i followed him for a fair distance when all of a sudden the blue light comes on he indicates to the left and the sign police stop flashes on. POTS ECILOP if looking in a mirror
As per usual out he gets puts his hat on straightens it walks over to the cab window, un does his jacket pocket takes out his note book and pencil and taps on the cab window

i open the cab window and say can i help you officer

He gives me a stare and says whats the speed limit on this road

Why dont you know officer i replied....

dont get clever with me i asked a perfectly straight question he retorted ....whats the speed limit on this road

30mph officer....

And what speed do you think you were traveling at before i stopped you

id guess it was 30mph just lke you...officer

I wasnt traveling at 30 mph he replied i was doing .....4.......

before he could finish i quickly replied so you were breaking the speed limit too hey... this will be fun

its strange we never finished the conversation he turned on his heels and got back into his car and drove off

same law applies to us all unless hes got the blue light on then they can break the speed limit

you take note whilst you are out and about how many travel above the speed limit

 

When I did my driving test 17 years ago I got a minor fault for use of steering. I’d got stuck behind a tractor on a longish stretch, and was trying to see to overtake it, as much as I tried to drop back it seemed to slow down again.

Anyway at the end of the test the examiner said I’d passed and my only minor infringement was for ‘overzealous use of steering, you seemed to weave a bit’. And then... ‘it’s a good job you did that though as if you didn’t I wouldn’t have known you were trying to overtake and I might have had to issue a major fault and fail you for failure to make progress’. My eighteen year old self wanted to ask what the frig I was supposed to have done to not get a fault at all in said situation, but was just about savvy enough to keep my trap shut say thank you and walk off with my certificate!

It amazes me that so many ‘drivers’ don’t see the hazards or danger of driving at a speed significantly slower than the prescribed limits.

 

This report states:

"Transport Department figures show 143 accidents a year are caused directly by slow drivers."

However it states no figures at all for accidents caused by speeding......................

Therefore I would hazard a guess that speeding ie travelling over and above any speed limit in place caused more than said number of 143 caused by slow drivers

So I put it to you that it is you that is wrong , just wrong.

 

You are right in that speed combined with BAD drivers almost certainly accounts for more accidents than excessively slow drivers. It takes two to tangle in any case. However...
It is more a case of thinking at one speed and driving at another. Speed itself is not the problem... To paraphrase Dickens' Mr Micawber. " Drive at 40mph thinking at 50mph result happiness. Speed 40mph thinking at 30mph result misery"
It is therefore INAPPROPRIATE speed that is potentially dangerous i.e. driving beyond one's ability to think, anticipate and react or traffic, road and weather conditions not simply speed. If everyone was a well trained good driver we would be able to treat speed limit signs as merely guidance and everyone would drive to the conditions either faster or slower than the recommened limit. Unfortunately. ability, experience and anticipation varies enormously so rules need to be set to the lowest common denominator. There are many drivers out there e.g. (Including RTA cops) chauffeurs etc. that I would feel perfectly safe with driving well in excess of the speed limits given the right conditions. There are also a lot of drivers I see every day that I would not want to get in a car with even if they drove consistently below the speed limits.
As a former DoT who still takes driving seriously and studied Roadcraft (Police drivers manual) and attended a number of courses including high speed driver training/skid pan training I was told I was in the upper 10% of drivers BUT I am only human and know I can (and have) made mistakes over the years - fortunately nothing of any consequence.

Best advice I was given when I was learning and then passed on to my pupils... "When you are behind the wheel treat every other road user and pedestrian as a total idiot" That has It stood me in good stead over the many years/miles I have driven

 

You said that driving quicker means more accidents. It doesn’t necessarily. As a blanket term as you put it that statement is plainly wrong. If it was right then every road in the country would have a 20mph limit.

I never said at any point that speed doesn’t contribute to accidents and/or fatalities. It clearly does. So does lack of speed. Maybe on less occasion. But it does.

So no I’m not wrong. I don’t advocate using excessive speed and I don’t seek excuses to break the law.

However if anybody thinks prosecuting for doing 1mph above a limit is either reasonable or even practically enforceable I’ll happily debate that with them.