speed limits

NBLondon

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

To be honest it's a valid point, there are too many new drivers that believe that they can only drive the same sized car, and sometimes only the same make and model, wierd?

Larger learner cars should be encouraged as I'm sure it would breed more confident new drivers.

I see a lot of learners round my way (close to a test centre) and I have wondered this - BSM seem to have a lot of Fiat 500s; AA have a mix of Fiestas and Focuses (Foci?) and the independents have all sorts of small stuff.

I understand that new drivers often feel happier with a small car but the best approach would be to drive something similar to what you might buy/drive next.

On the main topic - the really illogical bit is that you could do a test round here (suburban South London) in said Fiat and never go above 35 at best; then next day go out on the M2 or M20 in something much bigger and faster and be doing double the speed without any experience of it.

Or go out the next day and change lanes in front of someone doing double the speed and totally misjudge the space needed!

Hammyman

Strider590 wrote: »

Well... That's not really what I was saying.

It is exactly what you were saying.

There's simply no reason not to reach the speed limit if the vehicle, road and conditions allow it.

Which is completely different to what you said and is actually the correct answer but too many people say what you originally said and believe that to be true - that as long as they drive no faster than the number on the pole, they'll be completely safe.

However what you said above also means that it is not dangerous to exceed the speed limit if the road conditions allow it and which is why Traffic Police won't stop someone doing 80MPH on a motorway if it is safe to do so.

Hammyman

mikey72 wrote: »

Sit in a big catapult, and fire yourself out at a wall at 2mph.
Do exactly the same thing, but fire yourself out at 80mph.
All you've changed is the speed.

OK, if you're going to play stupid...

Sit in the same catapult. Move the wall 75% closer. Is that 2MPH still safe?

Move the wall three times the distance that it was originally? Would going 3MPH as you left the catapult be more dangerous than the original scenario?

And if speed kills, how come Richard Hammond didn't die when he had a crash at four times the national speed limit? How come virtually everyone in motorsport who has a crash over the national speed limit doesn't die? How come some who have crashes under the speed limit do die? After all, they weren't breaking the speed limit so weren't speeding and should have been perfectly safe going by your stupid thought process.

almillar

Inappropriate speed kills. That's a big, important word at the start. It IS safe to do 80mph on the motorway lots of the time, and of course, it's unsafe to be doing 70 sometimes.

cyclonebri1

dggar wrote: »

Surely the undersdtanding of approaching or closing vehicle speeds
comes with experience of driving in traffic. I'm not supprised that she hasn't found a way of teaching it.

Maybe something like the equivalent of a flight simulator for training pilots might work.

Of course, I was kind of getting at that which is exactly why "new drivers" are possibly the greatest hazard on the road today, irrespective of speed.

mikey72

Hammyman wrote: »

OK, if you're going to play stupid...

Sit in the same catapult. Move the wall 75% closer. Is that 2MPH still safe?

Move the wall three times the distance that it was originally? Would going 3MPH as you left the catapult be more dangerous than the original scenario?

And if speed kills, how come Richard Hammond didn't die when he had a crash at four times the national speed limit? How come virtually everyone in motorsport who has a crash over the national speed limit doesn't die? How come some who have crashes under the speed limit do die? After all, they weren't breaking the speed limit so weren't speeding and should have been perfectly safe going by your stupid thought process.

You've already claimed your 40 tonner can stop faster than any car on a motorway, and you'll never drive more than half a chevron away from the vehicle in front in a different thread, so I think we know who plays stupid.
Or just plays on the PS3.

Strider590

And they all turn on each other......... :rotfl:

scooby75

Getting back on topic.....

My daily commute along 3 different motorways usually involves being overtaken when I'm doing 70. It's really funny doing 70 in the offside lanes (when overtaking - not for the sake of it) and watching the build-up of seething rage from drivers behind. Equally funny is when I move back to the nearside lanes and watch said driver put foot down only to have to slam the brakes on again when confronted with the next sensible driver blocking their path.

Equally annoying however are those who drive far too slowly for the conditions, especially round corners. On a slip road between two motorways, I am constantly cut up by drivers who then slow right down to take a curve, causing me to break when I would otherwise not have to because I was sticking to a sensible speed to begin with.

scheming_gypsy

scooby75 wrote: »

Getting back on topic.....

My daily commute along 3 different motorways usually involves being overtaken when I'm doing 70. It's really funny doing 70 in the offside lanes (when overtaking - not for the sake of it) and watching the build-up of seething rage from drivers behind.

but are you doing 70?
My MR2 is bang on even though it's been uprated to 17inch alloys with fat low profiles; 70mph on the clock is 70mph on the sat nav. whereas on my Cherokee which is on original wheels; if i'm doing 80mph on the clock, the sat nav is showing 69mph.
So even though your clock is saying 70mph you could be doing a lot less

scooby75

My speedometer gives the actual speed so if I say I'm doing 70 I am actually doing 70 give or take whatever error the speedo has.