Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 132 total)
  • max 50mph on roads coming next year
  • showerman
    Free Member

    I cannot see a problem with it myself.Speed does kill. I average 30-40000 miles a year. Still think untill they restrict the max speed a car is legaly aloud to go this is all window dressing.

    BoardinBob
    Full Member

    Speed does kill

    Wrong.

    Bad driving kills, regardless of speed.

    spooky_b329
    Full Member

    Source/Link?

    Inappropriate speed kills, different from bad driving, which also kills.

    Smee
    Free Member

    Speeding plays a part in only 17% of collisions.

    Not looking properly plays a part in 80% of collisions.

    showerman
    Free Member

    sorry http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/article5864847.ece still will not stop speeding but as they say you cannot simply do nothing

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    Speed may not cause accidents – altho that is questionable – but speed plays a large part in the severity of accidents. the faster you are going when you hit something the more it hurts – basic physics

    avdave2
    Full Member

    Speed may not cause an accident but I for one would rather be in a slower accident rather than a faster one. Anyway we will probably have to restrict everything to 50 soon as fuel becomes more expensive to obtain.

    Smee
    Free Member

    Until regular retesting is introduced the standard of driving on our roads will stay low.

    Another thing that would work would be to reduce the points limit to 6.

    hora
    Free Member

    Agree on petrol. We also need shorter trains. To stop or at least prohibit train travel. After all diesel and electric trains are some of the worst polluters by far. This will have the knock on effect of restricting Tandem Jeremy from travelling too far.

    Instead of a 50mph limit why not a 30mph limit? after all EVERY other driver in a NSL seems to drive at half the **** speed limit even if it is August, warm, clear and **** dry weather.

    I also propose a Logan’s Run type carousel where all older drivers are ‘reborn’. This will also reduce the whinging numbers on STW as the older and more disaffected posters are ‘reborn’…

    🙄

    druidh
    Free Member

    If reducing the NSL to 50 would reduce deaths, then why not 40, or 30? After all, we’re already being told that the difference between 30 and 40 is significant in terms of survivability.

    Anyroadup, does anyone really think they’ll be putting ASL cameras on anything like 60% of A class roads? How long would that take / at what cost? Without the cameras to enforce it the number of folk ignoring the limit will simply soar.

    PeterPoddy
    Free Member

    Speed does kill

    Total BS that people have been force fed for so long they are beginning to believe it.

    I bet that if I replaced that airbag in the middle of your steering wheel with a big spike, you’d suddenly become a better driver…..Right now you feel safe and sound wrapped in your metal box, heating, aircon and radio on, talking on the phone, kids watching a DVD, being led along by your GPS and constantly watching the speedo and looking for cameras.
    Too much information/distractions + not enough skill = accidents

    Food for thought?

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    They can’t enforce the current speed limits so what makes you think they’ll be able to enforce this?

    fatblokeattheback
    Free Member

    They can’t enforce the current speed limits so what makes you think they’ll be able to enforce this?

    The roads will be covered by camera’s!

    ski
    Free Member

    So at what speed, does speed stop killing then?

    aracer
    Free Member

    Well I feel reasonably confident that when I turn off the major A road where the limit is enforced by cameras onto the minor B road I will then be able to do 60 as there will be no cameras there.

    What a stupid, stupid, stupid idea. It’s precisely this sort of nannying, giving the impression that you just have to stick to the limits which causes driving standards to fall. Will have a minimal impact on the death toll on rural roads, the majority of which are either unrelated to speed, involve people going much faster than the current limit, or in places where 50 is too fast (the latter may actually increase as people stick religiously to 50 and don’t think).

    gusamc
    Free Member

    We need zero tolerance. I propose making everything stationary then we’d all be fine.

    I’d have to say given the current financial situation it looks suspiciously tax revenue motivated to me.

    zokes
    Free Member

    As the news presenter on the BBC pointed out this morning:

    “If it’s the boy racers out there doing silly speeds now, how will lowering the limit make any difference, when they don’t pay any attention to the existing one?”

    Guy being interviewed:

    “Errr, it won’t……”

    Yet another stupid law from a stupid government that really needs to look a lot harder if it thinks daft policies like this will make a blind bit of difference, other than encourage a lot more drivers to ignore speed limits and get fines / points. Oh hang on, more fines = more ££££. I see now……

    MrNutt
    Free Member

    the roads ARE covered by camera’s!

    Master of Traffic anyone?

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    Peter poddy has a very good point.

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    Really. On my 26mile drive to work I only see on speed camera…

    hora
    Free Member

    whhoooooooaa they ARE rolling out average cameras next year to police the change. ****, lots of drivers watching their speedo’s religiously. Cyclist’s death’s will be up.

    MrNutt
    Free Member

    no blue ones?

    Solo
    Free Member

    Spooky_b329 is right. Its down to inappropriate speed for the prevailing road conditions. Even plod will tell you that.

    This is quite an old issue, which to my knowledge, nobody has provided a perfect solution. Restricting the NSL to 50 isn’t the answer, but you’ll never convince everyone, some will blindly believe that reducing road speed also reduces accidents/fatalities. Nothing will convince them otherwise.

    Poor driving standards ?, not sure when viewed against the rest of the world, those who have taken a U.K. driving test tend to be not too bad.

    More importantly, I have seen that it is people who choose to drive badly. The “me infront of you” mentality leads to a lot of issues on the roads.

    This reminds me of a TV program in which I saw that two drivers had raced each other on a country road reaching speeds of above 70. One lost control and ended up embedding his car in the ROOF of a house on the opposite side of the road to the direction he was traveling in. His car had flown so far that initially, no one could see his car, just the bits of mirror and bumper left on the verge. It was only when someone looked over a high hedge, around a house, some way down the road, that they discovered where the car was !.

    Now speed was a factor, but before you even get onto the speeds involved, why were those twits racing ???????. Those drivers made potentially fatal desicions to speed and race. For me, this is where the problem is.

    It comes down to the choices we make.

    Choose to speed ?, ok, its your choice, and its illegal.
    Choose to speed in conditions which can not support that speed ?, accident.

    This subject is full of statistic and hidden agenda.

    If the NSL really is to be reduced to 50mph, the car haters will love as they think it will make car users miserable.

    The cash greedy local Gov will love it as they launch another blow into the cash-cow that is the U.K. car driver. An NSL of 50mph will mean that more people may be tapped for £60, or whatever the fine is these days.

    Drivers who wish to comply with road speeds are now more than ever, having to watch their speedometers like hawks.

    My biggest concern is speeding on urban roads. As we all know, this is such a dangerous evironment as pedestrians are only feet away from 1.5 ton bits of metal passing by. A greater emphasis on controlling and enforcing urban traffic speed would be the better way to help reduce accidents, imo.

    S.

    sootyandjim
    Free Member

    ….The roads will be covered by camera’s!…

    Any idea just how expensive that would be?

    Perhaps funding for proper traffic policing rather than an over-reliance on cameras which can only deal with one, relatively minor, aspect of road safety would be a better bet.

    Unroadworthy cars, drunk/drugged drivers, stolen cars, untaxed cars, driving without due care and attention, these are just a few of the offences speed cameras are particularly useless at dealing with.

    andywhit
    Free Member

    While we’re having a rant, can we also put driving while using a mobile (in your hand) on the same level as drink-driving in terms of legality/sentencing.

    Ta.

    spooky_b329
    Full Member

    Hora…if you want to make trains more efficient they have to be longer! Also that study on train pollution was based on old diesel electrics was it not?

    And your telling me you can’t maintain an average speed without constantly checking your speedo? Doesn’t matter if you vary between 45 and 55, its the average that will count. Theres a 50mph C road near me, 60mph feels markedly different from 50mph.

    I’d much rather drive under average speed cameras than instant ones…although fustrating its so much easier and safer. Every driving at roughly the same speed with nearly safe gaps between cars, instead of the bunching up at each camera and tailgating/speeding after passing it.

    Solo
    Free Member

    SootandJim.

    Good post !.

    S.

    Solo
    Free Member

    Oops, missed the ‘Y’ out. Sorry SaJ.

    🙂

    S.

    hora
    Free Member

    Ever driven through roadworks on a motorway in a straight line without the benefit of cruise control? Even then you glance down. There are going to be a few shunts/sharp breaking incidents when the roads are normal/winding.

    How good are these think-tank/consultancies at selling into the Government, their salesmen must have honey for patter. The Government will buy anything from the powerful lobby-brigade.

    It’ll make the roads safer? I’d rather have a bit of risk to live like a free human than be controlled in many many ways. Sorry, its part of what makes life worth living, risk.

    Ps. My post on trains was a joke for TJ’s benefit 😉

    STATO
    Free Member

    And your telling me you can’t maintain an average speed without constantly checking your speedo? Doesn’t matter if you vary between 45 and 55, its the average that will count. Theres a 50mph C road near me, 60mph feels markedly different from 50mph.

    Spooky – they can but they wont accept driving at anything other than exactly 50, hence the need to constantly check the speedo to make sure they arnt under (wasting precious time!) or over (risk of paying fine for being impatient).

    Solo
    Free Member

    Hora.

    I like a bit of risk too, I think a lot of people do. Perhaps thats why we like mountain cycling.

    But using a car on the road isn’t a place to take risk.

    Last year I was traveling along the A127, to my surprize I noted that a certain section had ASCs in place, this was new to me. I mentioned this to someone at work and they told me that a car had left the road on a bend, killing the occupants. This, they suspected, precipitated the installation of the ASCs.

    It would appear that they were doing the wrong speed for the bend, a case of inappropriate speed ?, but look at the outcome.

    I still believe that speed alone isn’t the entire issue, but rather inappropriate speed is always wrong.

    S.

    Smee
    Free Member

    For those of you familiar with Edinburgh: You know the road that goes from Currie train station towards the A71 – I’ve had folk fail their test for driving along that at 50mph (too slow apparently). Ever tried doing 60mph along there – doesn’t feel anything like safe.

    druidh
    Free Member

    Smee – I know the road very well. There’s a blind entrance/exit to the university and a blind exit from another minor road onto it too. I’d be VERY surprised if folk were genuinely expected to drive at 60 along there. It would be worth checking that one out with the examiners.

    Sillyoldhector
    Free Member

    Ive never been able to get my head around why with a maximum speed limit of 70mph in the UK car manufacturers are allowed to sell vehicles that can excedd twice that limit. Its kind of like selling prescription drugs at twice the strenghth of the recommended safe dosage.

    Sillyoldhector
    Free Member

    Exceed and strength, sorry

    dobo
    Free Member

    this country is starting to make me sick!

    “I’m sure that the vast majority of motorists would support the proposals.”

    i doubt it, but it doesnt really matter does it, as even if the majority are against it they do it anyway, just like fluoridization of our water supply, biometrics id etc
    I hate the way they try sell these blanket solutions to our population like somehow its going to improve our lifestyles which they dont and they also dont tackle the root problem or stop the minority major offenders that will still persist that caused them to implement these ridiculous blanket rules in the first place.

    druidh
    Free Member

    Sillyoldhector – Member

    Ive never been able to get my head around why with a maximum speed limit of 70mph in the UK car manufacturers are allowed to sell vehicles that can excedd twice that limit. Its kind of like selling prescription drugs at twice the strenghth of the recommended safe dosage.

    Last time I looked, prescription drugs in came in big bottles which were WAY above the recommended dosage. It’s the responsibility of the individual to control their dosage on a daily basis. Your solution would be to have us turn up at the chemist for each dose?

    hora
    Free Member

    What are the biggest killers in the UK? Bet vehicle accidents isnt even in the top ten. Bet its a more emotive (and cash cow) subject though….

    nickc
    Full Member

    Couldn’t care less about the speed limit on roads TBH. In my internal list of “things that are worth worrying about” it comes just below the bits of plup in fresh orange juice getting stuck in my teeth.

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    Hora – most people die in bed – you going to ban beds? Ridiculous argument

    Around 3000 people a year are killed directly by road vehicles, perhaps the same again indirectly ( pollution related illnesses)

    If anything else killed this number of people every year there would be a national outcry. compare the 3000 killed on the roads with the 200 killed by firearms and the amount of fuss in the press?

    The tragedy of all this is there are many solutions to this carnage from road vehicles – but they are electoral suicide. Random breath tests with a lower limit, retest all drivers every few years, tougher driving tests, more enforcement of existing laws, tougher sentencing for driving offences etc etc.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 132 total)

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