Optimal speed for economical m'way driving?

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

greenman7 wrote: »

Pew Pew Pew Lasers - this is my reply from the IAM:
I have a few comments – the first being that the only reason I am responding to this is to protect the reputation of the IAM. Otherwise I do not respond to anonymous mail.

The IAM would appear to have had someone who has gone through our process and has been able to pass the advanced driving test, but who has negative views about the speed limit. Given that about half a million people have taken the IAM’s advanced driving test, I would be surprised if there weren’t a range of opinions amongst them. The individual is not a member, so I have no control, influence, or responsibility for him – and it may well be that the reason he is not one of our members is because of our stance on speed limits. The IAM’s view is that drivers should obey the speed limit. Encouraging anyone to do otherwise is a criminal offence. Individual speed limits may be inappropriate, and there may well be a need to review them – but just because I don’t like the law that says I should not hit people I disagree with doesn’t mean I am free to ignore it – and the same applies to speed limits.

If that person had said "negative views about the speed limit as a means of improving road safety" I would have been in agreement.

You probably have the impression that I drive at 60mph through residential zones laughing at my opprobrium - you couldn't be further from the truth. I set my speed according to the prevailing conditions, and not according to what a number on a stick tells me. Often that means I'm travelling as far below the speed limit as I am above it. As a regular cyclist I know a thing or two about how to drive safely and how to drive defensively.

If councils actually set limits according to the 85th percentile, and not as a result of, for instance, measuring the mean speed of traffic on a road and then reducing the limit within 10% below that mean speed (as happened on the A6144(M)), I might have more respect for it. If councils actually stopped wasting money with excess paint and massive reflective signs, and spent more time educating drivers of the importance of hazard warning signs, things might improve. If we had more traffic police on the roads instead of speed cameras, things almost certainly would improve.

I wonder, did you email that person just the bullet points you have highlighted in other posts, or did you email them the full content of all my posts?

hewhoisnotintheknow

movilogo wrote: »

You can even set it as 80 mph Speedo shows lower than true speed and ACPO guideline recommends no speeding ticket on motorway unless speed is over 79 mph (70 + 10% of 70 for allowance)

This all falls apart when you get nicked for speeding for your speedo reading under

tomstickland

Speedos are set to over read.