Speed camera on motorway bridge?

alared

In the USA where they have decent roads, with sometimes ten lanes,the speed limit is 55 MPH.

Here,where the "roads" are duel or three lanes and jammed packed it`s 70MPH.

If anything the limit should be decreased.

wdyw

alared wrote: »

In the USA where they have decent roads, with sometimes ten lanes,the speed limit is 55 MPH.

Here,where the "roads" are duel or three lanes and jammed packed it`s 70MPH.

If anything the limit should be decreased.

I take it you've not driven much in the USA then? Some insterstates have speed limits up to 80mph.

wolvoman

anewman wrote: »

..... but because you're a wan**r in a porsche with a job that earns you enough money to get the porsche and run it, you get off. Seems to be some inequality somewhere.

That's a pretty offensive thing to say. You don't know me at all but because I have a job and drive a particular type of car I am automatically a wan*er?

Pathetic.

rdwarr

movieman wrote: »

A driver who's looking for vans on bridges is a driver who's not watching the road ahead of them. Just another reason why speed cameras make the roads more dangerous.

When driving you need to look at far more than just the road ahead.
You look at the roadside in case a pedestrian or animal might run out.
You look at the roadside so that you always have an "escape route" in case of emergency.
You look in your mirrors to spot any potential dangers from behind.
You look at your dashboard to check speed and warning lights.
You look at bridges to check that nobody is going to throw anything off them.
etc.

Speed itself isn't a killer - it's all about the driver.

skim

rdwarr wrote: »

When driving you need to look at far more than just the road ahead.
You look at the roadside in case a pedestrian or animal might run out.
You look at the roadside so that you always have an "escape route" in case of emergency.
You look in your mirrors to spot any potential dangers from behind.
You look at your dashboard to check speed and warning lights.
You look at bridges to check that nobody is going to throw anything off them.
etc.

Speed itself isn't a killer - it's all about the driver.

Totally agree here - it's not speed that kills it's someone who is not paying attention to the surroundings.

107 mph is totally acceptable in my book as long as it's in the right conditions.

For instance I'll quite happily go above the speed limit on the motorway or a/b roads where I deem the limit unacceptable - however when I'm in a built up area like a town centre where the limit is 30mph - I'm much more likely to be doing 20mph.

although I must admit there are a good portion of drivers that shouldn't be on the roads in the first place because they haven't a clue what is going on around them

carl310166

linzibean wrote: »

Whereas 107 was perhaps a little excessive, speed limits on the motorway, as well as the standard stopping distances quoted in the highway code, are terribly outdated. I only drive a little deisel, but I admit I have sped to around 80 / 85 on the motorway mainly to keep up with the flow of traffic on a long distance run. I agree with speed restrictions being enforced in villages,around schools and other areas with children, but motorways are a whole different ball game. The original poster asked advice, and could probably do without the preaching!

As you have posted, even the driving enthusiasts would agree that they have no problem with speed limits through villages and around schools, they could even be lowered to 20mph in some areas, but you can safely do higher speeds on other roads. Anyway, hopefully it will change in April when they change the laws on how the scammeras are funded, so they will become a burden to local authority and safety camera partnerships.

iceman_2

anewman wrote: »

You will find that although there is no upper speed limit on the autobahn, the traffic actually does not travel all that fast. I am guessing you have not been to Germany before or have been watching too much topgear.

Errr yes, i've driven at least 1000 miles on autobahns. You are clearly the one who hasn't been to Germany, 5 minutes on the motorway and you'll be passed by at least 1 Merc/BMW/Porsche doing about 150mph. I tended to restrict myself to 120mph most of the time (and i'm still alive???!!!!), however I got passed quite regularly by people driving considerably faster.

Markyt

alared wrote: »

Anyone convicted of doing over 100mph,in addition to a ban and a heavy fine,should also do unpaid work in a mortuary for six months.

Nice to see we haven't progressed since Stephensons Rocket, when a group of MP's lobbied for its closure on the grounds that human body would be unable to withstand the forces generated from the speed.

VickyM_2

Gorgeous_George wrote: »

If someone steps out in front of your car,
at 20mph there is an 80% chance they will live
at 40 mph there is an 80% chance they will die

IF they stayed on the pavement they wouldn't screw up your paintwork.


The speed limits are outdated and pathetic. Cameras aree purely another form of taxation. If speeding was so dangerous, the Police should pull you over and issue the summons immediately.

As for villages with new speed limits (as low as 20mph). If the roads are that dangerous perhaps they should widen the road or maybe we should drive through with our horns sounded to warn any villager that a motor car is using the road.



GG

And there was I thinking villages should be for people to live in, not as racing tracks for cars...

Seriously, just how much does it hinder someone to have to drive at 20 mph rather than 30 mph through a village or past a school? Maybe it'll take a whole extra 5 minutes, but in the great scheme of things is it really that much of a bother? Could we have a sense of perspective about this?

And I say this as someone who, yup, does break the speedlimit - on dual carrage ways and motorways, but NEVER in builtup areas.

steveeeee

I saw this news story today and it reminded me of this thread:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/16/npolice116.xml

159mph policeman wins legal challenge

A police officer "with unusual driving skills" has won his High Court bid to appeal his conviction for dangerous driving after reaching speeds of up to 159mph in an unmarked patrol car.

Pc Mark Milton, of Telford, Shropshire — described as the "creme de la creme" of police drivers — was found guilty last August following his second trial for the offence after the High Court overturned his original acquittal.

District Judge Peter Wallis, sitting at Ludlow Magistrates' Court, found him guilty after ruling that his expertise as a Grade 1 advanced police driver was "irrelevant" to whether or not his driving was dangerous.

But Lady Justice Smith and Mr Justice Gross, sitting at London's High Court, said the district judge had "misdirected himself".

They sent the case back to him to decide whether "Pc Milton's unusual driving skills were such as to make a crucial difference to the dangerousness of his driving".

Lady Justice Smith said: "It seems to me that this matter is of considerable importance to both sides of the dispute."

At Pc Milton’s first trial, District Judge Bruce Morgan acquitted him of dangerous driving and speeding charges in April 2005. In reaching his verdict, Judge Morgan noted that two police officers who gave evidence for the prosecution, including West Mercia Police's senior driving instructor, had declined to classify the defendant's driving as dangersous.

A retrial was ordered before Judge Wallis when the High Court ruled that Judge Morgan had misdirected himself. Pc Milton’s second trial at Ludlow Magistrates' Court was shown footage taken from the camera fitted to a West Mercia Police Vauxhall Vectra. Milton, 40, was seen travelling at more than 100mph on A-roads and up to 159mph on the M54 during the early hours of December 5, 2003.

Pc Milton claimed he was only "honing his skills" as he was trained to do.