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Speed is rarely the root cause of "losing control" of a vehicle. If it was then motor sport wouldn't exist.

The main root causes are

a) Driver error

b) Other road user error - drivers, drunks, kids etc

c) road conditions

Speed is often the factor to determine whether you live or die. If you lose control at 60 then you may survive but might wish you'd been killed.

Its just as easy to face a charge of reckless/ dangerous driving within/ outside the speed limits

Surely a F1 driver has limits at which he is safe and limits at which he isn't - namely he runs off the road if he overdoes it? Often they do over do it - but the safety side fo things is now excellent and serious injuries are rare - certainly at the top level.

I completely disagree with your last point - or probably miss the point because you cannot be saying that it if I set off driving within the speed limit I have just as much chance of a reckless charge than if I sai dsod it I can drive at 90 because I am good enough and my car is new?
 
Well Swiss I was not trying to get anyone to rise to what I said but I will discuss it further with you if you want. Is it not a contradiction that you state that cars are better constructed then go on to say that the main cause of accidents is driver error. Driver error must surely be magnified by excess speed. N'est ce pas?
By the way I believe that you are factually incorrect about the Police littering the roads with cameras. They must show that the particular stretch of road and driver behavior on it warrants the camera. http://www.speedcameras.org/speed_cameras_guidelines.htm
 
Last sentence is true, but it's about far more than that - namely you lose control at 85 and crash into someone else. A £60 fine or whatever it is would be the least of your worries.

Whereas everyone will walk away unharmed if you lose control and crash at 70???
 
Whereas everyone will walk away unharmed if you lose control and crash at 70???

No, I was trying to say you are in all probability less likely to get done for reckless/dangerous driving if going at 70 (on Mway obviously) than at 85 but Swiss seems to think otherwise. In otehr words more chance of crashing if driving at 85.
 
Whereas everyone will walk away unharmed if you lose control and crash at 70???

Have a read if anyone is interested in risk of accident caused by excess speed...in particular

QUOTE "In Australia much research has been conducted into the effect of the speed of individual vehicles on the crash rate (Kloeden et al., 1997, 2001, 2002). These studies even show an exponential relation between speed and crash rate. Furthermore, Kloeden et al. (1997) compared the crash rates related to speed with those related to alcohol. The study concentrated on urban through roads with a speed limit of 60 km/h. The results showed that a motorist driving 5 km/h faster than this speed limit has double the risk of being involved in an injury crash than a motorist who keeps exactly to the speed limit. Exceeding the speed limit by 10 km/h has a four times higher crash rate and the risk is more than ten times higher at 15 km/h. On the roads studied, the increase of the crash rate due to exceeding the speed limit was about the same as that related with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.5, 0.8, and 1.2 respectively (Figure 2). However, for this comparison it must be noted that drink-driving is an almost constant risk factor, whereas speeding often is not constant. Drink-driving therefore has an effect on a longer part of the journey than speeding. Thus, given a certain journey, the risk of a crash is higher when the BAC is too high than when the speed driven (over part of the distance) is too fast."

http://www.swov.nl/rapport/Factsheets/UK/FS_Speed.pdf
 
Which part Mic? which is the silly part?

How would a change in the law work? Short of signs that altered as different vehicle types approached, I can't see how apparent recent advancements in technology could be factored in when there's still rust buckets like mine on the road?

As an aside, I noted the other day that your replacement tyre was worth as much as my car...:D

UTB

Not sure exactly how it could work in practice alco, not given it much thought.

An idea would be number plate recognition (which the police already use). Of course this can be abused, but the law could have more time to sort out the more dangerous vehicles on the road if they moved their attentions to potentially dangerous vehicles.

Surely a F1 driver has limits at which he is safe and limits at which he isn't - namely he runs off the road if he overdoes it? Often they do over do it - but the safety side of things is now excellent and serious injuries are rare - certainly at the top level.

I completely disagree with your last point - or probably miss the point because you cannot be saying that it if I set off driving within the speed limit I have just as much chance of a reckless charge than if I said sod it I can drive at 90 because I am good enough and my car is new?

True, but the F1 driver determines the safe limits through the information that he has doesn't he? All of the telemenitary he has shows how the mechanical parts of his car are, he should know the limitations of the car for the corners and so the errors here are driver error? But also F1 is the best example of what you can now do with a car and what impact slight modifications can have, such as a the DRS system.

Tyres are another good example. The Canadian Grand Prix this year ended up with a dry racing line but because of the rain there was a wet offline, so most drivers took the dry line, some of the reckless drivers risked the wet line with slicks, but can a cropper (either coming off or not getting the grip to complete the manoeuvre)

As for a reckless charge, you implied (and made a point) that losing control of a vehicle at 85 would result in more than 3 pts. I'm not sure it would. Doesn't it have to be proven that Speed was the cause.

A driver doing 50 in an 70 could just as easily perform an undertaking manoeuvre across 2 lanes of motorway which is just as dangerous, if not more dangerous.

85 on a motorway in a straight line, with a well maintained car, good weather conditions, alert, sober driver, keeping a safe distance from other cars is far less dangerous.

Well Swiss I was not trying to get anyone to rise to what I said but I will discuss it further with you if you want. Is it not a contradiction that you state that cars are better constructed then go on to say that the main cause of accidents is driver error. Driver error must surely be magnified by excess speed. N'est ce pas?
By the way I believe that you are factually incorrect about the Police littering the roads with cameras. They must show that the particular stretch of road and driver behaviour on it warrants the camera. http://www.speedcameras.org/speed_cameras_guidelines.htm

I wasn't sure if you wanted a rise or not, so that was just my disclaimer ;)

Not sure what the contradiction is. Cars are better constructed nowadays, but drivers aren't necessarily any safer (perhaps more aware nowadays, but then again maybe not). So in its simplest form, as one factor has changed (the mechanical part) then you could say that the roads and the vehicles are safer( granted the drivers aren't and there is more traffic on the road nowadays). The highway code was written based on the technologies of cars at that time.

The highway code states a stopping distance of 73 metres at 60 mph (18 metres thinking time and 55 braking distance) my car will do it in 39 metres. To put that into perspective, the highway code states 36 metres is the stopping distance at 40mph, so in effect I should be able to drive at almost 60mph in a 40 zone, shouldn't I because I can prove I can stop in time?

Of course driver error is magnified by speed, but then again, speed can also be a massive safety buffer, when you need extra speed in an overtaking manoeuvre for example.

As for your Camera point, I didn't say cameras I said camera signs.

---------- Post added at 03:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:39 PM ----------

No, I was trying to say you are in all probability less likely to get done for reckless/dangerous driving if going at 70 (on Mway obviously) than at 85 but Swiss seems to think otherwise. In otehr words more chance of crashing if driving at 85.

No Mic, You have misread my post, I picked up on the fact that you said lose control of the vehicle at 85 mph. The speed is surely not the root cause of "losing control" is it? The reason for losing control, such as a blow out caused by a bald tyre, using a mobile phone, changing the radio station etc could be a bigger factor and the main contributing factor for losing control.

Have a read if anyone is interested in risk of accident caused by excess speed...in particular

Thanks for that, just read the quote, which doesn't mention different vehicles, road conditions etc etc
 
The silly thing is that you are saying speeding (in excess of 70) is OK and you shouldn't be getting tickets if you have a new car and if you are a good driver.

Totallya ccept your comments about undertaking etc but I'll try and explain again what I'm getting at - if I set off with the intention of never breaking the speed limit I am less likely to be charged with reckless/dangerous driving? For example, I can stop quicker than I would be able to do if travelling at 90 and hence am less likely to smash into something. If someone makes an error, crashes and becomes stationery in front of you and you plough into them at 90 causing serious injury or worse to others you'd get nicked for reckless/dangerous wouldn't you, if you were doing 70 you wouldn't - assuming you were a reasonable distance away?

Simple question Swiss - do you think speed limit should be 80mph and if so, do you think it would be safer all things considered? Surely safety is paramount?
 
The silly thing is that you are saying speeding (in excess of 70) is OK and you shouldn't be getting tickets if you have a new car and if you are a good driver.

Totallya ccept your comments about undertaking etc but I'll try and explain again what I'm getting at - if I set off with the intention of never breaking the speed limit I am less likely to be charged with reckless/dangerous driving? For example, I can stop quicker than I would be able to do if travelling at 90 and hence am less likely to smash into something. If someone makes an error, crashes and becomes stationery in front of you and you plough into them at 90 causing serious injury or worse to others you'd get nicked for reckless/dangerous wouldn't you, if you were doing 70 you wouldn't - assuming you were a reasonable distance away?

Simple question Swiss - do you think speed limit should be 80mph and if so, do you think it would be safer all things considered? Surely safety is paramount?

If safety were paramount the speed limit would be 15mph. No-one would get killed then. The speed limit is actually a trade off between our convenience in getting to somewhere in a reasonable time and what is considered to be an acceptable amount of casualties.
 
The silly thing is that you are saying speeding (in excess of 70) is OK and you shouldn't be getting tickets if you have a new car and if you are a good driver.

Totallya ccept your comments about undertaking etc but I'll try and explain again what I'm getting at - if I set off with the intention of never breaking the speed limit I am less likely to be charged with reckless/dangerous driving? For example, I can stop quicker than I would be able to do if travelling at 90 and hence am less likely to smash into something. If someone makes an error, crashes and becomes stationery in front of you and you plough into them at 90 causing serious injury or worse to others you'd get nicked for reckless/dangerous wouldn't you, if you were doing 70 you wouldn't - assuming you were a reasonable distance away?

Simple question Swiss - do you think speed limit should be 80mph and if so, do you think it would be safer all things considered? Surely safety is paramount?

The silly thing (as you call it) is a perfectly reasonable comment. Although I am not saying anything about being a good driver (what is a good driver?) I am just saying that a modern car is much safer at higher speeds (in excess of 70) because as I have demonstrated, braking distances are much improved on the Highway code recomendations.

ABS, ESP, Tyres, Brakes and other technologies (including the roads themselves) should mean that certain cars should be able to drive faster.

I will turn this around now to say that the speed limits must also be REDUCED in winter (below 7 oC) if cars are not fitted with appropriate winter tyres.

You're second para has changed what you said originally. You said that you lose control of your vehicle and crash at 85.

And if someone crashes and becomes stationary in front of you, surely it'd be them that was charged and not you?

If you crashed into someone at 70, would there be much difference to ploughing into someone at 85/90?

And to finally be pedantic, if you were driving at a safe distance and were alert, you'd surely not crash into them as regardless of 70, 85 or 90, the fact that you were at a safe (not a reasonable) distance would mean that you would stop or be able to manoeuve in a safe way to avoid the incident :)

I believe that the speed limit on certain parts of motorways should be unlimited, like on the autobahns. However, this would need a change to the driving licence system to include driving at speed, motorways and some "conditions" training.

The dutch, for example have a motorways part of their test. In UK we are not even allowed on the motorways until we have passed our tests...
 
The facts are that the speed limit is 70mph if you exceed it you are exposing yourself to the risk of fines/points. I have pointed to the facts outlined by research which shows that you are more likelyto have an accident the faster you go. What makes you think Swiss that you are qualified to travel at speeds in excess of the legal limit. So what you are saying is...do away with the limit and let each individual decide on the safe speed for him/her. A recipe for carnage on our roads if ever I saw one.
What is your point about the warning signs? You dont want them? They are probably only relevant to those who exceed the speed limit anyway. As I understand it they are placed at locations where cameras may be placed at certain times.
 
The facts are that the speed limit is 70mph if you exceed it you are exposing yourself to the risk of fines/points. I have pointed to the facts outlined by research which shows that you are more likelyto have an accident the faster you go. What makes you think Swiss that you are qualified to travel at speeds in excess of the legal limit. So what you are saying is...do away with the limit and let each individual decide on the safe speed for him/her. A recipe for carnage on our roads if ever I saw one.
What is your point about the warning signs? You dont want them? They are probably only relevant to those who exceed the speed limit anyway. As I understand it they are placed at locations where cameras may be placed at certain times.

I accept that exceeding the limits exposes you to risks of fines and points, but I accept that risk.
I believe that this is my only risk, I think that driving a new car decreases the risk of an accident, the facts on braking distances support this.

I should clarify that when I answered Mic's question of increasing from 70 to 80 that I was answering with motorways in mind, not all roads. You may think that doing away with the limits is a recipe for carnage, but it works in Germany from what I have seen. I have talked about my experiences on German Motorways in the past and there is an etiquette that we don't have in the UK, whereby the fastest car is always at the front and their lane discipline is much better.

I think warning signs are fine, but in the area where there are actual or active speed cameras. The rest of the time they are just clutter. Go along the M1 nowadays between Chesterfield and London and they are on every new sign.
 
If you had read further you will also see that an increase in speed on motorways has less effect on the accident rate than on other roads....but still does have an effect. The truth is, IMO, drivers in general can not be trusted to decide for themselves what speed they travel at and most think they are better drivers then they actually are. Better technology does mitigate the performance of drivers but it also lulls them into a false sense of asecurity. You should also drive at such a speed that you can stop in the distance you can see to be clear but the capabilities of the car are affected by those of the driver...eg reaction times.

Do you have any facts to support your Autobahn theory
 



You could be the best driver in the world, in the best car in the world, using expensive tyres made from ocelot foreskins, but it still doesn't alter the important thing. The speed limts are there for a reason, however much you disagree with that reason. Break the speed limit and you may well pay the price. Just because you disagree with the limit and how the limit is enforced changes nothing.

As far as the cameras being revenue machines, if nobody broke the limits then there would be no revenue, just as if nobody broke any laws then we would have no need for prisons. If you set off a bit earlier then you don't need to speed.

And if you do speed, and you get caught, tough shit.
 
I recently went on one of those courses as a result of going too fast.....my bloody fault, I knew there was a money box...erm camera there.

The AA who run the courses to Police guidelines said that statistically Motorways are the safest roads with the least accidents. There is also legislation due to be looked into by Parliament that could result in Motorway speed limits being raised to 90 MPH when conditions allow. They are also considering REDUCING the lower limits in certain areas. They said that cars are now much safer and the current limits are outdated.
If conditions are good for driving, the Police will not pull you on a Motorway up to 80MPH.
 
Got to say Swiss you're comments about the risk of speeding being yours and yours only is pretty distasteful. I'm very glad I very rarely drive on motorways with people with your views sharing the same road.
 
Got to say Swiss you're comments about the risk of speeding being yours and yours only is pretty distasteful. I'm very glad I very rarely drive on motorways with people with your views sharing the same road.

I'd agree with this although I'm doing a load of motorway driving at the moment.

Driving any vehicle at any speed is a risk to yourself and others.

To think otherwise is quite foolish.
 
I recently went on one of those courses as a result of going too fast.....my bloody fault, I knew there was a money box...erm camera there.

The AA who run the courses to Police guidelines said that statistically Motorways are the safest roads with the least accidents. There is also legislation due to be looked into by Parliament that could result in Motorway speed limits being raised to 90 MPH when conditions allow. They are also considering REDUCING the lower limits in certain areas. They said that cars are now much safer and the current limits are outdated.
If conditions are good for driving, the Police will not pull you on a Motorway up to 80MPH.

If the law is changed as a result of responsible and supportable evidence....so be it....but you watch the maniacs then push the limits again...they'll do 100 plus and still justify it...and still complain when they get a ticket

BTW...about half the motorways in Germany have a speed limit and only about 2% of traffic travels on the unrestricted sections. It is not realistic to compare Germany and the UK but there are slightly less fatalities in the UK than Germany. There is,however, an advisory limit of 130kph (81mph) in Germany on the unrestricted sections.
 
Swiss - another question for you if I may. On a 30 residential street with parked cars and kids do you drive at 40ish because you have a swanky new car with excellent brakes or do you stick to the speed limit (which hopefully is being reduced to 20)? If the former - which I have to logically assume is the case - don't come anywhere near my place.

Sorry if it seems like a grilling - know you can cope with me anyway - but I do find this interesting.
 
Nice one Soccer Cynic! I'll rise to this.

The Police, have littered just about every road in the UK with Camera signs, which apart from diluting the impact of the other signs that matter - such as the actual speed, warnings about adverse camber, schools, pedestrian crossing etc don't do a lot.

The police obviously have to put them up so that they comply(ied) with EU law, but instead of just putting them in accident hotspots, they put them along much greater stretches of road to cover their arses ("well you can't say that you weren't warded") and to allow themselves the chance to catch more offenders by being more random.

This all misses the point entirely. The speeds themselves are no longer reflective of the capability of the vehicles on the roads. The highway code specifies stopping distances, but most modern cars can easily stop within these distances and in some cases even half the distance. Older cars are much more dangerous even if they are well within the speed limit.

As an example, I know a particular corner where my car will manage it, in the wet at 70 mph. A 1986 Seat Ibiza would do it at 40 in the dry - Well within the speed limits, but dangerously fast for that car.

I have Y rated tyres on my car, which are now rated to 190mph, I bet most people don't even know what their tyre ratings are and in some cases will have a lower rating for the load carried and I can guarantee that there are a heck of a lot of people driving within the speed limits, but with tyre treads well below the legal limit.

I've had a number of speeding tickets over the years and I take them on the chin, pay the fine and take the points, I am sure I will continue to get more over the years, just an occupational hazard

I don't believe its a case of some never learning. Its a case of some actually taking a pragmatic view and realising that the laws need to be changed. Of course they won't, its too convenient for the law to remain the same.

Everything you say is perfectly true.

Until the first time you fuck up.

When you do - and it is a when and not an if by the way - I hope you're not carrying any passengers in a completely uninhabited area along a totally empty road.
 
Speed is rarely the root cause of "losing control" of a vehicle. If it was then motor sport wouldn't exist.

The main root causes are

a) Driver error

b) Other road user error - drivers, drunks, kids etc

c) road conditions

Speed is often the factor to determine whether you live or die. If you lose control at 60 then you may survive but might wish you'd been killed.

Its just as easy to face a charge of reckless/ dangerous driving within/ outside the speed limits

And the efffects of driver error at speed are magnified.

Your words sound likeThe ramblings of someone who's done the stelvio pass a few too many times :)
 
Had to go out last night so just catching up with things. I think this thread shows just how people can get morally outraged. I never realised that there were so many Daily Mail readers on here! ;)

Autobahns - No I don't have any evidence other than my own personal experience, I don't know the stats, I never claimed to have any. I find Germany the best country to drive on the Motorways because of the etiquette. Italy, France and the UK are pretty poor, but Germany is excellent.

Residential Areas - Now we've moved into an entirely different area, we were talking motorways and now we're suddenly onto residential areas. Of course I drive at a safe speed in residential areas. Its not to say I haven't had speeding tickets for doing in a more than 30 in a 30, I didn't realise that the areas were a 30 zone, but in the two instances, one I complained that the limit was not clearly displayed, which it wasn't and they cancelled that one without argument. The other I just took on the chin because I clearly hadn't obeyed the limit

Risks - Distasteful? Come off it. Accidents happen at all speeds but if I make a sensible judgement, I am called reckless or distasteful?!? Fines and Points are a minimal risk to me personally. I can guarantee that there are far more dangerous people on the roads than me. Thats not to say that I am building myself up to be a great driver, but I have spent time and money on ensuring that my car is as safe as reasonably possible.

Speed limits on Motorways - Ah the moral high ground, quite ridiculous really. You're all happy to sit at 69 Mph, you may even go within the 10% tolerance because thats the law. Good for you. I'm sure you've all gone above the speed limit. The speed limit is law, no body is disputing that, but to call someone that thinks it should be higher "reckless" is a bit over the top. Its fair to say that I know the capabilities of my car and the previous cars i've owned very well. I really don't buy into this "speed kills" argument. Its never been conclusively proven and what is so magic about 70 MPH?

Fines/Points - Shorehamview - Yep you are so morally correct here its untrue. I certainly haven't complained about my speeding fines.

Reasons for Speeding - Sorry Shoreham, its not always just about getting there on time. Sometimes you just think that you can do something safely with minimal risk.

Leniency - In the past I have been pulled over by the police for speeding on country roads, but as both times were late at night, I just stated my point and was let off. Both occasions it was dry, clear and straight roads and I could see well ahead. So I was driving safely. The copper agreed, but wanted to do a check on me anyway, so pulled me over, On both occasions the copper had a quick look at the car and just got some feedback from me. All very civil and the first time (when I was 19) he said that If I am going to drive fast, to invest in higher rated tyres... which I have done ever since.

Revenue Generation - Ah again Shorehamview is so correct on this one. I notice the "losing control" argument soon went away, people that tailgate or undertake are just as dangerous as people that speed, their actions are far less safe but why arent there big fines for this as well? Perhaops its because its not as easy to get the money as it is from Speeders.

Speed Kills, Drugs are bad, Binge drinking Britain and the Immigrants

Everything you say is perfectly true.

Until the first time you fuck up.

When you do - and it is a when and not an if by the way - I hope you're not carrying any passengers in a completely uninhabited area along a totally empty road.

Why is it a When and not an if?

---------- Post added at 09:02 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:58 AM ----------

And the efffects of driver error at speed are magnified.

Your words sound likeThe ramblings of someone who's done the stelvio pass a few too many times :)

True on all counts, but you can plan for driver error and still drive at speed safely.
 
It has to be a when, Swiss. Everybody fucks up at one time or another. It might not lead to an accident every time, I'll give you that but to suggest that anyone can drive with full concentration 100% of the time is disingenuous at the least.

I just count myself lucky in that the accidents I've had so far have been at very low speeds and both in reverse gear. :o
 
It has to be a when, Swiss. Everybody fucks up at one time or another. It might not lead to an accident every time, I'll give you that but to suggest that anyone can drive with full concentration 100% of the time is disingenuous at the least.

I just count myself lucky in that the accidents I've had so far have been at very low speeds and both in reverse gear. :o

Ah ok I thought you were trying to say that it would be innevitable that I would have an accident...

You're right, its impossible to concentrate 100% but what you can do is limit the chances of events occuring or restrict a lapse in concentration to a minimal end result. Such as leaving a great distance
 
Yep Swiss, distasteful and becoming increasingly so with every post.
 
cars , planes trains are metal boxes that travel at speed to convey us to places , in a lifestyle weve all got used to, getting around and travelling
No matter how safe wed like it be , hurtling round in metal containers is and always will be a risk
Speed is just a factor in accidents , as is driver awareness , road conditions , lighting, weight , and skin and bones inability to match up to metal
We had road accidents in Dick Turpins days , people got crushed under coaches and trod on by horses, but speed limits and gatsos were never a factor
Theres 60 million cars on our roads , so the 1400 killed on our roads last year though regrettable is miniscule, and when you consider 4300 were killed on uk roads in 1926 when there were less than a million cars shows how much safer we all are, as cars in those days had a top speed of 50 ish, the good ones

Compare this to death by choking , we all eat and should be pretty good at it but 261 people died last year choking on nuts alone
Are we then going to put cameras in restaurants and fine people for how fast they eat

Or act like adults and realise accidents are caused by carelessness in the main and 3-5 mph is not the main cause
 



Yep Swiss, distasteful and becoming increasingly so with every post.

I find it quite odd that you've asked all these questions and when I answer them honestly with (what I believe to be) sound reasoning, you find it distasteful.

I think you are misinterpreting what I say (along with many others).

The simple point I am trying to make is that I believe that the motorways can be safe enough to justify an increase in the Speed Limits because:
- Improved technology
- Improved safety
- Improved reliability
- Greater driver awareness

But just because I said that I would drive faster than the UK speed limit doesn't me reckless and it also doesn't mean that just because I advocate unlimited speed on stretches of motorways, It doesn't automatically mean that I'd drive to the limit of my vehicle. I know my limits and its way, way below the 155mph (restricted) top end of my car.

Just for your information, its not just me that thinks the speed limit on UK motorways is too low.

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, France, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, Latvia, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Sweden all have higher motor way limits than the UK (up to 130kmh/80 Mph)

So do you think that the UK speed limit is too high, low or just right?
 

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