Speed Warning Device

Altarf

pauljoanss wrote: »

I do not think it is immoral to drive over the limit but within the prosecution speeds

So you like to play the odds...

pauljoanss wrote: »

I now have 6 points for speeding and have 2 1/2 years before any fall off.

and lost.

Ah well, never mind.

Joe_Horner

Iceweasel wrote: »

I think that several people have missed that the OP said in post #1 he didn't want an app.

I did see that but thought I'd make the point that something like this is likely to be more easily available as an app than as a dedicated gismo. There's no reason he couldn't buy a cheap Android smartphone on PAYG, get an appropriate app, then just pretend that it's a dedicated unit. You can get handsets for less than 30 quid now, which is cheaper than a satnav, and map updates are free.

I've got a £45 phablet that I use like that for work. Never made or received a call on it (don't even know what it's number is), although I do use it for internet for placing parts orders and answring work emails - because it's technically a phone 3 let me use their 321 PAYG sims in it at a penny per MB rather than insisting on me having a data plan that I wouldn't use Other than that, I just pretend it's a credit card terminal (using iZettle) , or Kindle (for tech sheets and reference books), or portable watch timer, as required.

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

OK, the fundamental issue is that you need to work to the actual speed limit, not your notion of what is acceptable.

Get yourself on a RoSPA or IAM advanced driving course. One of the fundamentals you will learn is sticking to limits. The cost will be less than a gadget.

There a couple of tips. In a manual car, stay in a lower gear, 3rd for 30, 4th for 40, you then have more control over the car, any concerns over very minor differences in fuel efficiency will pale compared with losing your licence. Secondly, slow before the limit so you are under the limit before the sign, don't accelerate until after the sign. Thirdly, don't fixate on what other drivers might think about your speed, of you are worried about going a bit faster to help other drivers, why would you risk your licence to satisfy other people's impatience?

Driving is 90% attitude. A small adjustment about taking driving seriously will work wonders and you'll start enjoying driving again.

If you want a gadget, by a Merc. They have speedtronic which is a speed limiter, it is very sophisticated and applies brake, changes gear and blocks the accelerator to keep accurately to a limit you set.

AdrianC

IanMSpencer wrote: »

OK, the fundamental issue is that you need to work to the actual speed limit, not your notion of what is acceptable.

Get yourself on a RoSPA or IAM advanced driving course. One of the fundamentals you will learn is sticking to limits.

Whilst I'd agree with the suggestion, I disagree with that "fundamental". What the OP should learn - and will have already learnt on the "several" SACs he's also been on, is that the speed limit is not the only hazard out there.

If the many blatant clues to the limit are being missed, what other hazards are also being missed? It's not a case of looking for one thing stops you looking for other things - it's a case of clearly not looking (and thinking) about the hazards surrounding the car. If you're looking for those hazards, the streetlights and/or repeater signs will be blatantly obvious.

As for "forgetting" what the clues are, they are really simple.

Are there reminders? Yes? That's the limit.
If not, are there streetlights? Yes? 30.
If not, are there two carriageways? Yes? 70.
No to all of those? 60.

Yes, it really IS that simple, on EVERY single road in the UK. If the OP genuinely can't remember that, then what other basic fundamentals of driving is he also forgetting?

Altarf

AdrianC wrote: »

As for "forgetting" what the clues are, they are really simple.

Are there reminders? Yes? That's the limit.
If not, are there streetlights? Yes? 30.
If not, are there two carriageways? Yes? 70.
No to all of those? 60.

Yes, it really IS that simple, on EVERY single road in the UK.

There are plenty of roads where there are street lights where the speed limit is anything other than 30.

There are plenty of roads where there are two carriageways where the speed limit is anything other than 70.

There are plenty of roads where there are no street lights and is a single carriageway where the speed limit is anything other than 60.

But other than that it is very simple.

Joe_Horner

Altarf wrote: »

There are plenty of roads where there are street lights where the speed limit is anything other than 30.

There are plenty of roads where there are two carriageways where the speed limit is anything other than 70.

There are plenty of roads where there are no street lights and is a single carriageway where the speed limit is anything other than 60.

Yes there are, but they're all covered by the first point "are there reminders", by which he obviously means repeater signs.

So, yes, it is as simple as he said

eta: there are also 3 stretches of dual carriageway (2 near Edinburgh and one in North Wales) where, if it weren't for the 70mph terminal signs and 70mph repeaters, no speed limit at all would apply. But the repeaters have those covered as well

Cornucopia

Altarf wrote: »

There are plenty of roads where there are street lights where the speed limit is anything other than 30.

There are plenty of roads where there are two carriageways where the speed limit is anything other than 70.

There are plenty of roads where there are no street lights and is a single carriageway where the speed limit is anything other than 60.

But other than that it is very simple.

It is simple. When I explain it to people, they often say, but what about X? Then they think about it and realise that X has street lights (or whatever).

It's an additional backup tool for understanding speed limits. It's meant for the practical application of reading the roads, not for the pedantry of the Internet forum.

If you want to approach it differently, most roads will fall into one of three categories:-

1. Urban roads. The default speed will be 30. If there are repeaters, then some roads might be 40 or 50 as signed.

2. Country single carriageways. The default speed will be 60. If there are repeaters, then some roads might be 40 or 50 as signed. In villages, expect 30.

3. Motorways and dual carriageways outside towns. The default speed will be 70. Watch for temporary speed restrictions on gantry signs, information signs, or roadworks signs, as these are often backed up by speed enforcement, including average speed checks.


Driving 15000 miles a year, 15 years without points on my licence.

AdrianC

Joe_Horner wrote: »

eta: there are also 3 stretches of dual carriageway (2 near Edinburgh and one in North Wales) where, if it weren't for the 70mph terminal signs and 70mph repeaters, no speed limit at all would apply.

Go on....?

Cornucopia

The A720 Edinburgh bypass is a 70mph Dual Carriageway, for most of its length.

IIRC, it has 70 terminal signs and repeaters, presumably because it has street lighting (and would otherwise be 30mph limit).

There also used to be a 70 terminal sign at the start of the M4 in London. (I think that may be a historical accident, though).

antrobus

pauljoanss wrote: »

I believe the basis of speed limits is fundamentally all about safety...

But yet you say...

pauljoanss wrote: »

......Additionally I do not think it is immoral to drive over the limit but within the prosecution speeds eg 33 in a 30 limit. ...

Doesn't really add up, now does it?:)

pauljoanss wrote: »

..Driving is a very complex process .....

Very true. Which is why, in this country, we have a system whereby we try and identify those who can't quite cope with this 'complex process', issue them with fines, and even disqualify them from driving for a time, in the hope that they will do something about it.

In you case, I would suggest driving at or below the posted speed limit would be a good start, as opposed to 10% over the posted limit.