To be fair, doing 160mph is in it's own little arena of insanity. That is far too fast for public roads regardless of condition. When you start hitting speeds of 120+ regardless of what car you're in, reaction times and braking distances are of the chart.
Wait, if everyone goes 20mph instead of 30 mph then stopping distances are decreased saving lives! No, wait, lets all go 10mph! That'll save even more lives!Originally Posted by Fatboy40
You have to judge each road by the current conditions, and I drive at a speed I judge to be safe, and sometimes that's over the speed limit as speed limits have to account for the worst conditions.
2 years of driving and no accidents, although a couple near misses where I managed to break in time because I had judged my speed and the distance between me and the other cars on the road to be safe.
People who drive too slowly and are blissfully unaware of their road surroundings are just as dangerous as people driving far to fast for a particular road. When your driving you should be hitting the limit of that road and concentrate on the road and other drivers, not how nice the scenery is. If you want to admire the scenery stop the car and get out. If you respect the essence of speed (motion, inertia etc), then going fast is not a problem, but not many people can appreciate it or respect it and thats why "speed" is an issue.
In relation to the OP, I feel your pain. One of my mates still kind of drives like that after nearly 4 years of driving (he has calmed down a bit in the last year or so). To make matters worse he is insured on his fathers 5 series BMW and he has a Fiesta ST (with boy racer white tripes) himself and just completely thrashes both of them. He is a COMPLETE NUT JOB on the road and I am just waiting for the day for him to get caught, he IS dangerous. He was pulled once in the BMW, but because of the nature of his dads job, the car isn't on the PNC, so they basically didn't know what to do with him and let him off.
He cuts people up, flashes them to move over, looks at them with disdain as if they're the t**ts not him, if it wasn't for his speed he would be a good driver, but everything is rush, rush, rush, must over take, must over take. Being in the car with him, is actually stressful. I wasn't in the car at the time but my other mate said he once done 60 over a speed bump back when he just passed his test. It was like something out of Hollywood the way it took off he said. Just last week he did Swansea to Nottingham in 2 and a quarter hours...google earth says it should take 3 1/2 hours.
Last edited by Dorza; 03-02-2008 at 05:18 PM.
The main reason 30mph's used is because at that speed if you hit an adult pedestrian, the chance of them surviving is (if I remember correctly) 80%.
"Oh an extra 10mph won't hurt."
Hit the same pedestrain at 40mph and they've only a 10% chance of surviving.
Reminding myself of this while driving makes sticking to the speed limit a whole lot easier.
I have trouble accepting that people should hit the limit of the road irrespective of all other conditions (extremely poor visibility, slippery road and strong wind). Probably not illegal, but highly questionable in my view.
I dont agree with that at all, as i actally have been knocked down by a car travelling at 45-50mph on duel carrageway when i was 6 and i suffered a broken leg and few bruises. Im not saying that speed is not a factor but its just one factor in if your going to survive being knocked down. You have to take into account vehicle size, shape & design, where you get hit, how you land after being hit these are more important imo.
Last edited by Optical668; 03-02-2008 at 06:40 PM.
Hell and Fire was spawned to be released.
Two words: Common sense. What you stated should be obvious to most so I didn't put it in my post. Under normal driving conditions, where traffic is free flowing, you should be hitting the speed limit. If someone's too nervous to hit close to 30 and have their head in the clouds then they shouldn't be on the road.
Last edited by Dorza; 03-02-2008 at 06:53 PM.
Well, you were really, really (really...) lucky then, as you could have been killed by a car travelling half that speed. If you think your experience is representative of a 50mph crash you're maybe a wee bit mistaken.
Speed is indeed only one factor, but it's one that we can control ourselves. But many of us choose to say "oh, I'm a good driver, I have a good car, new tyres etc." to fool ourselves into thinking it's ok. Or the classic "everyone speeds". Doesn't make it right though.
I have a very wise friend, who made/makes a living from speed. He has a company that tunes and race prepares cars. He's a former jet-ski and touring car competitor, and race track instructor. He used to fly stunt planes. But yet, despite being more than qualified to drive quickly, he doesn't, ever. And his opinion is that there's no need to. And he certainly doesn't believe there's any excuse to. Sensible fella.
The car is only as good as the driver driving it. Stick me behind a Ferrari F430 and I would probably either nick it or trash it. Stick someone like Lewis Hamilton behind it, and they will be able to manage the car and really out shine you!!
There are young drivers who are idiots, most because they think their ride is teh best. The fact its got a shoddy body kit on, a noise box on the exhaust on a 1.2L saxo is besides the point. They just like to show off. We all hate the speed limits in places. But the way he was driving is bad, and I congrat you on getting out.
If I want to 'be unsafe' I do it on my own so I don't endanger other peoples lives.
The biggest problem with this speeding driver is that the car's dynamics can change an awful lot when the car's loaded with 5 people. So thats handling, grip, acceleration, suspension, all sorts of factors.
Clearly being inexperienced he didnt care, and as mentioned its why many of us young drivers get stung badly despite driving respectfully.
And as for being a smart chap, even they dont escape the need to be cool under the pressure of the 'lads'
Most modern cars disconnect the driver so much from the reality, it gives a false perception that everything's ok when pushing things to the limit.
For example, no feedback through the steering, brakes that dont need as much force through the pedals to get a similar response, all give a false sense to drivers.
Not all young drivers are bad, and plenty of middle aged people can be just as dangerous.
I think lots of male drivers are like that for a few months after just passing, till they have a near miss.
I don't think you should be hitting the speed limit. I quite often drive at 60 in a 70 just to save petrol. Sometimes even slower if I'm not in a rush. I would say doing 50 in a 70 is still safe, but not any slower.
It's similar with people in large 4x4's. I remember seeing something on TV ("tonight" or similar); they put a bloke in his 4x4 and observed his driving, and then did the same but he was driving a small car (fiesta or corsa iirc).
He took more risks in the larger vehicle, e.g. pulling out into a small gap.
I've just checked and it's true, there's a bugger load of stats to prove it. Apparently children are more likely to survive but not by much (10% ish) so you were super lucky.
... Yeah, lets just do that. Best way....My evil side says take away speed limits and bring back in survival of the fittest!
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