Speeding

[herbert_goon]

Sorry to play devils advocate! I am no troll either....

Which views do you agree with?

1) Speeding can be dangerous
2) Speeding should be illegal
3) Speeding laws should be enforced

For one, I agree with all 3. I keep hearing people saying appropriate use of speed is ok but to be honest how do we know we can trust them and their judgement?? I mean really, speeding is not neccessary is it unless your ole wifey is giving birth etc...

Yes doing 20mph on ice is dangerous. Yes doing 90mph on a motorway is dangerous. In both cases consider the "is dangerous" to apply to others and not just yourselves.

Some of us think driving fast is fun and maybe it is, but is it worth loosing your licence over, maybe a fine or even hurting yourself or others? Even denting that willy-enhancing pride and joy?

What am I getting at here? Well, I for one think that moaning about the speeding laws/getting caught by a gatso is like moaning that you got caught fibbing on your tax return - i.e. it's your risk!

<realises I am moaning about moaning >

Flame me alive..

[Howard]

Age old discussion

Speeding can be dangerous, but not always. I believe the speed limit should be raised on motorways for example. However 30mph outside a busy double-parked school road at 3:30pm would be dangerous.

[Barakka]

Speeding is not necessarily dangerous, it depends on location, conditions etc. but I have generally found during all the time I have been driving that the police tend to be OK about it.

On the motorway for example, as long as you're not driving like a prat or going stupid fast (100MPH+) they tend to leave you be. I don't think the limit should be upped to 90 or similar, as then the prats in the Audis/Golfs/Mercs/Jags etc who now do 100MPH will start doing 120MPH. Also, although some people are perfectly safe at 90, some aren't but it doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed on the M/Way.

Speeding on slower roads needs to be addressed, I hate people who drive everywhere at 40-45 Mph. You're annoyed driving behind them at 40-45 on the National Speed Limit road, then it drops to 30 for a built up area and off they shoot at the same speed.

I agree with most of your points though, it can be dangerous, it should be illegal, and laws should always be enforced. As for getting caught... I got caught by a mobile camera about 7 years ago, I got 3 points and a £60 fine, served me right I was speeding. Slowed me down a bit too

[dangel]

Yes doing 90mph on a motorway is dangerous.

I love sweeping generalisations, don't get me wrong, but this is far off the mark as per usual. It's amazing how people are being sucked into the governments 'speed kills' (and nothing else does) campaign without actually thinking things through for themselves.
If all we had to do to improve road safety was to stop everybody doing 1mph over the limit then obviously the proliferation of speed cameras over the land wouldn't have left the death rate on a plateau for the past few years. Problem is (and it's an inconvenient one if you're looking for a 'quick fix' for road users) things like dangerous driving, poor road design, failing to account for road conditions, tailgating, impatience (i.e. pulling out at junctions - where a vast amount of accidents actually occur) and lack of awareness of other road users probably add up to far more of those annoying 'statistics' than speed.

Sure, I can drive at 90mph in perfect safety on a motorway - so long as it's not busy, wet or too close to other road users. I can also drive as a complete danger to others at 70mph - swapping lanes at a whim (with no indication), randomly braking, tailgating - without any fear of those nasty speed cameras.

We'd do better to focus on the roads where the most accidents happen - i.e. not motorways - and where they're are far more hazards and less room for mistakes (1 lane versus 2/3).

[chrislusty]

Speeding is not always dangerous, excessive speed for the conditions is dangerous.

90mph on some motorways at certain times of the day is fine, other time 60mph is too fast. It all depends on the conditions traffic etc.

30mph can be far too fast at certain times of the day in normal 30mph limits, ie. outside schools at 8.30 - 9.00am and around 3.30pm

20mph on ice is just stupid, same with snow etc.

I think drivers need to be taught about appropriate speeds for the conditions.

Speeding is against the law, but everyone speeds at some point.
I do agree that speeding is not neccessary though, but I do speed on times i feel it is safe to do so. ie 80mph on motorway.

[Butuz]

Keep dancing

Butuz

[herbert_goon]

[BenW]

IMO motorway speed limits are just silly. 100MPH is dangerous at the moment but thats only because many people are sticking to the rules and going at a slower speed. If everyone in the outside lane is going 100MPH and those in the middle lane are aware that most people will be going 100MPH then its safe.

You don't hear of larger than average numbers of crashes on the german autobahns, people expect to see some exotic merc/bmw coming at 120MPH

The other thing, speed limits at night. Go on the motorway at 10pm on a weekday and its deserted (Well, nearly). Why should you be limited on a road with no cars/people around. Just seems silly IMHO

[Rave]

Now I'm trying to get a job driving for a living, I'm paying a lot more attention to speed limits. I don't drive my bus over 30mph when I'm training (unless I accidentally run a couple of mph over on a hill), nor will I if/when I'm driving a bus full of passengers. I'm not going to lose my job for arriving late at my destination, but I could lose it for speeding, so it's an easy choice to make. Sorry if you get caught behind me.

I never sped that much in towns anyway; I'm pretty sure my car speedo (like most) overreads by 10%, and I almost never did more than an indicated 40 on wide open roads with good visibility, never more than an indicated 30 on normal narrow side streets. However on motorways/Dual Carriageways, I have ocasionally hit over 120, and when late for various things I have cruised longish distances at over 100mph- my MR2 could do it easily, and on lots of roads it really is safe to go that fast. My rule of thumb was that if you couldn't see far enough ahead to be sure of slowing down for a speed trap, it wasn't safe to be speeding- because the speedtrap could also be a vehicle pulling out for a slip road, or pulling out of a side road etc.

The M6 toll is well known as a speeder's paradise, but AFAIK it has a perfectly good safety record- to me that's a good argument that it should have a higher speed limit.

Edit: plus of course I whole heartedly agree that most accidents are caused by crap driving, not speeding per se.

[Steve B]

its weird to think that when they introduced seatbelts, pedestrian accidents increased and driver injuries decreased
more people speeding as they're safer in the cars, but not as safe on the outside

[dave87]

The fact that there are no hard and fast rules about what speed is acceptable and safe is precisely the reason why I advocate more traffic cops and less gatsos - they have the power of discretion, but cost more. I think the law is blind to advances in technology & safety improvements mean we have a greater chance of walking away from an accident, but I personally would rather avoid them in the first place. I think making some form of advanced training a necessity would be good, considering the number of absolute muppets on the road.

This debate always reminds me of something a copper said to one of my rents on their advanced driving courses, It's the Human Thrombosis - the clot behind the wheel, and that statement holds true for the majority of situations.

[chriswood_7]

IMO motorway speed limits are just silly. 100MPH is dangerous at the moment but thats only because many people are sticking to the rules and going at a slower speed. If everyone in the outside lane is going 100MPH and those in the middle lane are aware that most people will be going 100MPH then its safe.

I tend to disagree with that. A car at 100mph has twice as much energy as that of one travelling at 70mph, so in my opinion if something goes wrong at 100mph:
A) you have less time to react at 100 than 70 (almost twice the total stopping distance)
B) You have around twice as much energy at 100 than 70, therefore a possibility of twice as much destruction before you come to a stop.

Conclusion: Accidents happen and everyone makes mistakes. If it takes twice the distance to stop and creates twice as much destruction its not worth it.

[magicrichard]

Maybe the speed limits are in place to protect yourself as well as others..

eg: Yes the motor way is deserted, but if you lose control of your car at 100mph and crash that extra 30mph could be the difference that makes you just crippled for life, rather than dead.

Whatever the arguments used about cars being able to brake more quickly nowadays and handling better at higher speeds - the fact that older cars are sitll around can hardly be escaped. For the majority of cars on our roads 70mph is a controlable speed to travel at.

[5lab]

the other thing to remember is

if you are going 100, and someone else is going 70, by the time they STOP, you will still be going 77mph. that means, that if i'm in the middle lane at 70, and you're going 100 in the fast lane and a lorry jacknifes, blocking all 3 lanes, i'd be able to completely stop, whereas you'd be instantly killed..

http://www.volvoclub.org.uk/pdf/Spee...gDistances.pdf

[Dark Horse]

The M6 toll is well known as a speeder's paradise, but AFAIK it has a perfectly good safety record- to me that's a good argument that it should have a higher speed limit.

A friend of mine regularily runs up and down there racing porches in his 15 year old 2L Cavalier at 130mph...

[dangel]

Maybe the speed limits are in place to protect yourself as well as others..

Some history on motorway speed limits:

"The 70 mph speed limit on motorways has been in force since December 1965. It was introduced as an illogical reaction to a series of multiple accidents in poor weather conditions. That such accidents occurred and continue to occur is not surprising, since drivers have never been offered effective training in judging speed and distance within the unique visual environment of a motorway.

A 70 mph speed limit imposed in good conditions could not and has not prevented these accidents. The report on the 70 mph 'experiment' attempted to justify its continuation but provided no valid evidence that accidents had reduced.

In the last 35 years, substantial improvements have been made in vehicle and highway engineering. Drivers have become much more accustomed to motorway driving, even though training is still inadequate. In 1965, 70 mph represented more than 80% of the maximum speed of average cars. Now it represents only 60%. The result is that 56% of car drivers exceed the motorway speed limit."

(http://www.abd.org.uk/motorwayspeedlimit.htm)


Personally i'd avocate variable speed limits, with no limit when conditions allow (as they do in Germany where i drive regularly for business) combined with a stiff clampdown on people not observing safe distance from the driver in front of them and lane discipline. I'd also like to see lorries being pulled off the roads in peak hours - this alone would reduce the death rate on the A14 (which carries a huge amount of port-bound heavy goods traffic across the region) for example. All that seems like common sense to me (perhaps i'm mad) compared to our current idea of 'speed = death' which is a mindnumbingly simplistic approach to a complex problem.