Speeding motorists – why?

You’ve just failed your basic driving test.

That’s fine, he can just stick to riding his high horse. (-:

OP why do you ‘stick’ to the speed limit? You the type of person that worries me. Blindly believing its the right thing to do.

The whole point of driving is to get from A to B quickly, otherwise we’d all just walk.
Of course, we need to do this safely, but what occurs to suddenly prevent this as a car goes from 40mph to 41mph?

I see much more innappropriate speeding within the speed limit than over it, which is no surprise as if you convince people that speeding is unsafe, they’ll go on to assume that not speeding is safe.

As a side note, it really used to piss me off when some do-gooder in a car would flash when i was out on the bike, not to worn me of a police presence but because they thought i was traveling too fast! How very dare they! Tf i want to fling myself into a field 3,000mph it’s none of your bloody business.

Of course you can ! Its your human right to do so, as long as your family are happy to go and repair the farmers fence, assist the emergency services in retrieving your corpse and the rest of society can financially support your bereft dependants, how dare you use the roads for your selfish pleasure, hire a racetrack and grow up !

Cheekyboy that makes you just as selfish riding a mountain bike

Must be Surrey speed camera day, they were out on the Aldershot-Guildford road near Normandy this morning also.

i’m the other sort, if i see someone flashing me after a speed trap i’ll pass their reg number on to the police. its no different to any other crime, helping someone else get away with it is just as bad. i hope they all get points and lose their licenses. why do otherwise law abiding people think its not a crime?

You sound like a reet barrel of laughs to be around old boy!

It’s a very emotive thing that does bring out the militant side of people…I.e those that think cars are evil and all motorists should be lynched to those that think they can just do what they want.

There is no good excuse. Start earlier. Realise that 10 minutes a day is just plain sodding selfish.
Grow up. Its a law and one with a good reason.
I loath speeders. My vocabulary is inadequate to express it without me getting banned here.
Up there nearly Jimmy Saville.
Fun is not appropriate within other peoples lives potentially at risk.
Ever.

Euro – Member

As a side note, it really used to piss me off when some do-gooder in a car would flash when i was out on the bike, not to worn me of a police presence but because they thought i was traveling too fast! How very dare they! If i want to fling myself into a field 3,000mph it’s none of your bloody business.

I recall doing my advanced riding assessments with the Police. At one point my assessor (on a fully marked Police Pan-Euro) instructed me to keep up with him.

And he then sodded off into the distance well north of every speed limit in this country. So I did as I was told, and it was highly amusing the amount of cars coming the other way flashing me to slow down because ‘there was a marked copper in front’.

“I know! I’m doing everything I can to catch him, and my 200mph superbike is struggling!”

Back on topic, I think convert hit that nail on the head earlier in the thread.

And to look at it another way… why do people speed? Well, the last time you went out on your mtb, what was your aim? I bet it was to ride as fast as you could and gain enjoyment from that.

It’s pretty obvious why. The speed limits are too low. 70mph on a motorway is mad.

i’m the other sort, if i see someone flashing me after a speed trap i’ll pass their reg number on to the police. its no different to any other crime, helping someone else get away with it is just as bad. i hope they all get points and lose their licenses. why do otherwise law abiding people think its not a crime?

Ever been contacted by the police to give a statement? If not then I’d suggest none of the flashers you reported got done.

If any police force did take you up on it there is a good chance you would have to give a statement and be prepared to spend a day or two sitting about a court waiting room prepared to give evidence. Good luck with that.

As Jeremy Clarkson and co frequently demonstrate, not that we needed it demonstrating, driving cars (and riding motor bikes) really really fast is a right old laugh. And it has the added bonus of getting you where you want to be a lot quicker. So it’s a win/win!

It’s just a case of using a bit of common sense about when and where you do it. Can’t see why people get so hysterically menstrual about it really

mattsccm – Member

There is no good excuse. Start earlier. Realise that 10 minutes a day is just plain sodding selfish.
Grow up. Its a law and one with a good reason.
I loath speeders. My vocabulary is inadequate to express it without me getting banned here.
Up there nearly Jimmy Saville.
Fun is not appropriate within other peoples lives potentially at risk.
Ever.

So why not lower the risk even further by walking instead of driving your car?

I ‘speed’ and will never ever warn anyone or want to be warned.

If you wont wear prescription glasses you deserve to be caught.

OP why do you ‘stick’ to the speed limit? You the type of person that worries me. Blindly believing its the right thing to do.

I never said I rigidly stick to the limit. I make my choices which is frequently below the limit, sometimes above (motorways typically) but in this case 40mph is a reasonable limit so I observe it.

It’s easy done. I got caught where a road goes from 50 to 30; I slowed to 30, but not quite soon enough and got caught doing something in the region of 35mph just past the sign. (I appreciate the irony of this given my previous post…)

That’s probably why the limits are set in the first example you gave: too many people going in the other direction would be doing 50 through the straight bit, then start braking in the residential part. Seen precisely this locally; people would exit the NSL into the 30, continue doing 50 through the safe bit, then end up doing 40 through the residential bit. What they’ve done now is put a 40 in up to the NSL which for me works much better in slowing the traffic down for the residential area.

The speed camera vans and the fixed cameras have to be signposted within a set distance else they can’t operate legally.

I can’t recall exactly the distance, but I think its about 1/2 mile before the camera.

Our local Drivesafe sit regular on a 30 zone that was a 40 and they make a fortune. If you pay attention you can see they are there as they zip tie a camera sign to a lamppost then remove it when they go.

I find it amusing when I get flashed to slow down seeing as I’m in a fully marked up driving school car next to a Learner driver. Do they think I’m going to let them speed ?!?!?!?!?!?

I loath speeders. My vocabulary is inadequate to express it without me getting banned here.
Up there nearly Jimmy Saville.

If only everyone just kept their eye on the spaedo.

You’re all such wonderful driving gods – I do hope you take your crystal balls with you too, so you know what’s just out of sight or about to happen.
*wanders off, shaking head in disbelief at such ignorance of safe driving*

I speed to and from work ever day, I save about 10mins each way

I’m sceptical of that, unless you are really taking the piss.

And let’s just clear something up here. Sticking to the speed limit does NOT necessarily mean you are ignoring everything else. It is perfectly possible to drive according to the conditions AND not exceed limits.

And to those who say they drive as fast as you consider appropriate: that’s what everyone does, by definition. Doesn’t mean much.

*wanders off, shaking head in disbelief at such ignorance of safe driving*

So slow driving is automatically safe then? No it’s not. It’s possible to be safe and exceed the limit, just as it’s possible to be within the law and be unsafe. Safe is safe – speed only comes into play when you have to stop 😀

*wanders off, shaking head in disbelief at such ignorance of safe driving*

I speed to and from work ever day, I save about 10mins each way

I’m sceptical of that, unless you are really taking the piss.

Why? not everyone lives in a crowded city or travels during rush hour. I used to finish my night shift and head home on empty roads at stupid o’clock. The journey consisted of a few miles of motorway, some open A roads a few towns. If the conditions were right i could max out my bike which could easily double the limit in 4th gear on the m’way. Easily be be over 100 on the A roads and bumble through the towns at 30.

Urban/towns always to the limit. Approaching small villages towns on a/b roads always reduce to the limits. Bits in between I judge using my own awesomz driving skills.
Only had three points once in 19 years and that was winding my old eccy diesel van down hill before a big uphill.
One head on crash, my fault in as I was over overtaking three on a very straight road. Changed my mind after two, car number three panicked and closed the door. I was left stranded in my own 24 yr old stupidness. Just clipped wing to wing and it made a big mess! Old bill very sympathetic for some reason and no action taken.

speed only comes into play when you have to stop

Well done on stating the bleedin’ obvious!

Classic STW speeding/driving thread. All the classic arguments and high horses too.

So slow driving is automatically safe then? No it’s not. It’s possible to be safe and exceed the limit, just as it’s possible to be within the law and be unsafe. Safe is safe – speed only comes into play when you have to stop

Euro hits the nail on the head with this. Speed limits are pretty arbitrary, and safe != under the limit and unsafe != over the limit.

😆 at this thread.

Speed is only an issue when you have to stop or are stopped by a solid object at which point your safe speeding becomes unsafe and if you or someone else is unlucky a lot of excess kinetic energy needs to be absorbed. Speed limits need to be enforceable for all with no exceptions for the hyper aware driving Todd who we are privileged to have amongst us. Should you need to speed get a mountain bike and ride at the limits of your performance or get a really good motorbike at least then if you are not as good as you think you are Darwinism removes you from the equation more often than an innocent road user.

The amusing thing is that when ever they set up one of these “local” speed traps, they pretty much catch “locals” 😉

(everyone always says “i hate people speeding round my neighbourhood” as if the people driving around their neighbourhood are from somewhere else!)

The simple fact of the matter is that the law has to be black and white, so a speed “Limit” is pretty much an arbitrary fixed value, below or at which speed it is considered on “average” safe to drive. But “safe” is not a fixed value, it includes things like driver alertness, observation, experience and skill etc. Unfortunately, what we are seeing is the limit being constantly dropped to accommodate the lowest common denominator, ie. compete idoits behind the wheel.

The vast vast majority if people “speed” simply because they are happy driving at that speed, and there experience shows than on “average” it is a speed at which they don’t crash (remember, every single day, hundreds of millions of miles are driven by people not crashing!)

Whilst we continue this insane fixation of not exceeding this single arbitrary value, instead of properly educating drivers and providing them with the experience and skills for them to properly and appropriately decide their own speed at any given moment, i can’t see any improvements in real road safety imo.

simmy – Member

The speed camera vans and the fixed cameras have to be signposted within a set distance else they can’t operate legally.

Incorrect.

Lady Gresley – Member

You’re all such wonderful driving gods – I do hope you take your crystal balls with you too, so you know what’s just out of sight or about to happen.
*wanders off, shaking head in disbelief at such ignorance of safe driving*

I always drive at a speed where I can safely stop in the distance that I can see is, and reasonably expect to remain, clear.

Do you?
How do you know your driving is better?

We could always get a man with a red flag to walk in front of cars, it used to work well I believe 😀

It would appear that many road users have a nasty sense of entitlement and many disregard the law due to pompous and selfish attitudes.

It’s clear from posts in this thread that many believe they are clearly better drivers than the majority and therefore they can flout laws that have been put into place to protect others.

I’m not saying that the speed limits are set to high or too low and I don’t really see the point of arguing it – why change it when so many people die on the roads?

People can try to dismiss it, but the faster you travel the less time you have to react to anything that happens.

I look forward to the day when black boxes get into every car and breaking the law behind the wheel becomes impossible to avoid. Or when the task of driving is taken away from us altogether.

As an aside, I can’t really see how people can complain about the price of fuel and yet continue to mash the loud pedal at every opportunity either!

Thing is, it wasn’t supposed to be a speeding thread, it was about why many drivers who would I’m pretty sure say it was a stupid place to be speeding, then go ahead and warn those that are so they don’t get caught for it.

Jesus.

molgrips – Member

Jesus.

Dude with a beard, on a bicycle.

Just overtook you.

Windmills into thread

Come on then you slags!

The drivers who I love here in Snowdonia are the 50mph brigade.
In the countryside they do 50mph holding 3000 cars back.
They come into a village with 40 limit, they stay at 50.
30mph zone, still at 50mph.
Mainly non german cars driven by people who give no room to cyclists.

As an aside, I can’t really see how people can complain about the price of fuel and yet continue to mash the loud pedal at every opportunity either!

Company fuel cards innit .Pretty obviuos to see who is driving on their own fuel , or on a company fuel card / company car.

As for speed only being an issue when you need to stop , so the laws of physics dont apply to motorcycles and corners then ?

Why is it pretty much all bikers have to speed ? Like it isnt an option to ride to the speed limit + 3mph. Not fair on the emergency services who have to zip you into a body bag , and yes I have seen too many dead people in RTC’s aready thanks.

Did my speed awareness course ( 35 in a 30 at the limit sign driving away from the van as i was under the false impression they can only zap from the back window )I was the only 1 of 14 people who admitted to not speeding on the motorways as a matter of course.

As for flashing oncoming motorists my policeman friend reckoned it was perverting the course of justice and a criminal offence.

Lady Gresley ..I always drive fast to impress girls stood at bus stops

It’s clear from posts in this thread that many believe they are clearly better drivers than the majority

This may be true, but driving better than the majority isn’t exactly difficult.

I did a speed awareness course and answered in the positive to the question of whether I considered myself an “above average” driver. This, I was told, is overconfidence; but I wasn’t really commenting on how great a driver I thought I was, I was commenting on how shit everyone else is.

I used to earn a living as a motorbike courier! It was mental! I was young, stupid, rode a succession of terrifyingly fast 2 wheeled rocket-ships, and viewed the speed signs as a challenge to do at the very minimum, double the number stated!

I think the fact that I ‘m still alive is testimony to just what a fantastic driver/rider unbelievably lucky bastard I am 😀