Why aren't cars speed limited?

prowla

I keep meaning to take my car on a track day.

Mercdriver

DUTR wrote: »

If you have 100% never ever broken the speed limit anywhere anytime, then I read your point, if you are employed to police the roads, then I read your point, if you are prepared to stand in front of a moving vehicle travelling at 8mph then I read your point.
If you can't understand that if everyone drove within the stated limits there would still be accidents then what can I say?.....

What speeds does a Yaris with only front brakes do on a scalextric these days, I wonder?

Deastons

iolanthe07 wrote: »

Braking hard would have meant the car behind me slamming into me.

Then the car behind you was too close.

NBLondon

Hence Iolanthe had to accelerate out of the danger zone as swerving, holding speed and emergency braking would all have been more likely to end in a collision. It's a rare set of circumstances but a limiter would have taken away that option. Don't worry though... as more and more manufacturers introduce driving aids to take control away from you if the computer thinks you are not paying attention (wandering out of lane, too close to car in front, reversing out of a space when something is about to cross behind you) it's quite likely that there will be an "ALWAYS-ON" limiter linked to satnav maps of speed limits available.

System

Speeding does not kill or at least as much as all the advertising and police propoganda they use to justify speed cameras would have you believe.

These are the official figures collated from the Police's own accident investigation reports and make interesting reading.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/665190/ras50008.ods

In 2016 Exceeding the speed limit was a contributory factor for just 5% of all accidents. Contributory, not even the primary cause. In fact "Travelling too fast for the conditions" was a cause of 6%, higher than exceeding the speed limit and a speed limiter, even one which kept you within the posted limits for that road wouldn't have prevented people from doing that.

Read this official government information from 2014 which shows driver error is the largest cause at 73%.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/463043/rrcgb2014-02.pdf

zagfles

NBLondon wrote: »

Hence Iolanthe had to accelerate out of the danger zone as swerving, holding speed and emergency braking would all have been more likely to end in a collision. It's a rare set of circumstances but a limiter would have taken away that option.

You'd also need a pretty powerful car to be able to accelerate away from an otherwise imminent collision! If I put my foot down when doing 70 in 5th it'd take a good few seconds to even get to 75, hardly likely to change my position enough in a split second to avoid a van with a blown out tyre veering into me.

Similar did happen to me ages ago (not a blown tyre but someone suddenly changing lane) and there was also someone too close behind me, and I had no choice but to slam on the brakes expecting to be rear ended. Somehow wasn't, lots of screeching behind me but he did manage to brake hard and quick enough to avoid ploughing into me.

vikingaero

You can drive as fast as you reasonably can on trackdays, the Isle of Man and on the derestricted autobahn in Germany. I live quite close to France and visit regularly where it is permissible to travel at 130kmh/82mph on some autoroutes.

Congestion is such that some motorways barely travel much above 60mph in all lanes so an element of self-regulation exists.

prowla

Deastons wrote: »

Then the car behind you was too close.

A thought he could take to the grave with him.

John-K_3

My new car will apparently do 198mph. That suggests that if the road is slightly downhill that it!!!8217;ll do 200mph.

I!!!8217;d like to give that a try one day, when conditions allow.

As to the stupid first question, I often drive in countries with a higher limit, in UK cars, so don!!!8217;t want mine limited to the UK limit.

Deastons

John-K wrote: »

My new car will apparently do 198mph. That suggests that if the road is slightly downhill that it!!!8217;ll do 200mph.

I!!!8217;d like to give that a try one day, when conditions allow.

As to the stupid first question, I often drive in countries with a higher limit, in UK cars, so don!!!8217;t want mine limited to the UK limit.

There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers.