ChrisGamlin
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| posted on 31/10/05 at 08:41 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by MikeP
Hitting a deer? Running over debris left by the wind? Too fast for conditions IMO (not to say I wouldn't make the same mistake, but it is a
mistake).
You've obviously not driven on British B roads 
Years ago I had a deer headbutt the side of my car when it ran out from a tree lined roadside into my car! Had he decided to run out 1/2 second
earlier he would have been coming across the front of my car but there's no way I could have reacted, and even if I was only doing 10mph he
still would have hit the car and I wouldnt have been able to avoid him. Was the mistake I made choosing to drive down that road in the first place?
[Edited on 31/10/05 by ChrisGamlin]
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Cita
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| posted on 1/11/05 at 05:36 AM |
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Hmmm.. I dont think Kenzie is too far off
nor does the German police!!
cheers Cita
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NS Dev
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| posted on 1/11/05 at 08:17 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by jollygreengiant
The thing to remember about speed limits are that they are maximum speed limits for that road (or section of that) you are on, but as a responsible
driver you are expected to drive safely at all times and the speed you are traveling at should reflect the road/weather/visibility conditions
applicable at that time.
Would 70mph on a motorway be considered safe in a thick fog with only 10 meters visibility?
Would 30mph be considered safe on a narrow country road, with houses around, at night, in an area where there are known herds of deer (hence warning
signs)?
Would 40mph be a safe speed through a wooded area, whilst there is torrential rain (20 metres visibility) and gale force winds (80mph +)?
I believe that in Germany the police take the attitude that there is NO such thing as an accident and SOMEONE is ALWAYS responsible. Even if its the
mechanic who failed to do a bolt up.!
Occasionally you do get events that are beyond a drivers control (speed/steering/visibility) and we had one recently(ish) where an older lady stepped
off the kerb in front of a bus (as it was turning into another road) and she was killed instantly. In this case the investigation exhoneratated the
bus driver on the grounds that she had possibly diliberately stepped into the road but to this day they do not know if she had or had not seen the
bus. Personaly I feel deep sympathy for the bus driver likewise train drivers who are completely helpless when it happens to them.
The main problem lies with the lack of proper public transport, and, that as a working population, we no longer live within walking distance OR
sensible public transport distance of our places of employment.
Consider the possibility that the government recognises this and the fact that if they started cracking down on the drivers with severe penalties for
driving then the economy would colapse fairly quickly and the prisons would fill up very rapidly. They are however quite happy to accept a large
income from speeding drivers and do nothing about improving general driving standards or the policing of those standards of driving.
OK lads debate that lot. 
Oh and I do know what it is like to have a pedestrian step into my path, serveral years ago I followed some cars past a school bus, half way along I
spotted feet crossing the front of the bus, I STOPPED. The twelve year old boy didn't and ran into the stationary nearside front of my car. He
got some bruises, but it could have been worse. 5 hours later I got a grilling from the (BEDFORDSHIRE) police. The only thing that saved me was that I
had imediately reported the incident to the local station (NORTHANTS).
Even now it scares the cr*p out of me.
Some good points here (unlike some further up I feel!)
The "no such thing as an accident" bit is utter crap as I said further up, but yes, in MANY cases someone IS to blame directly.
The german mechanic who fails to do a bolt up IS indeed to blame. If I worked on someone's car and left it in dangerous condition then I would
expect to face the full force of the law if they were injured as a result of my work.
Several years servicing for rally teams made me think VERY methodically when it came to safety critica bits (I may come over as devil may care to
those on here who know me but I am extremely careful with safety critical items!)
RE. the speed limits, I have said before, some are FAR too low, and some are too high. Many roads in my area (I know it's the nimby view but I
know these roads!) are narrow, with cars parked both sides and children playing. They should be educated but many are not, and of course they are
easily distracted. 30mph gives NO time to stop when there are parked cars both sides. When the cars are gone in the day though 40mph is perfectly
safe. SPEED APPROPRIATE TO THE CONDITIONS!!!!
The other night driving down a single carriageway A-road near to me, in dry conditions, with no other cars visible, I drove home at speeds
considerably into licence losing territory, but again it was appropriate to the conditions (yes, I know that is my opinion, but I am driving the car
and can see hazards as they appear)
The children in the road one always scares me, hence why I drive SOOOO slowly are with utter care in streets where they are regularly playing. In a
similar vein to the bus driving thing, shortly before the mobile phone while driving legislation change, I receved a call which i would normally not
have answered, but as it was somebody that I knew and who would no mind me breaking off the conversation to concentrate on driving, I did.
I then came to some parked vans and cars opposite a shop, and slowed right down, as in to 15mph or so. Another car was then right up my chuff
evidently peed off with me for slowing down. At this point a small girl crossed to road to the shop without looking at all. I braked again to around
5mph suspecting she may not be alone, and surely enough at that point a small (7ish) year old boy ran out after her, around 8 feet in front of my car.
One furhter stamp on the brake stopped my car in about 1m with the boy frozen in front of
me...........................................................had I been doing 30mph he would certainly be in hospital, if not worse. I would have been
blamed for being on the phone, when that had NOTHING to do with it as I was concentrating 100% on the unfolding situation and though I was holding the
phone, I had totally stopped conversing for the period. I would then have been lynched by the locals as it is not the best area to run over a child
in.
SPEED APPROPRIATE TO THE CONDITIONS IS THE KEY, both above and below the speed limit in my humble opinion.
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MikeP
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| posted on 1/11/05 at 05:49 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by ChrisGamlin
Years ago I had a deer headbutt the side of my car when it ran out from a tree lined roadside into my car!
[Edited on 31/10/05 by ChrisGamlin]
Clearly too slow for conditions Chris  !
I agree completely NS, the right speed for the right conditions. You'd like what Kenzie says about speeding: "On highways speed
isn't the problem, it's the point!", and he's a big advocate of raising the highway limits. He's got a lot to say about
left (right to many of you) lane bandits obstructing traffic by running at the legal limit, and to SUVs passing either side when there's deep
snow & ice on the road.
Trouble is when laws aren't black and white they're much easier to fight in court. It's illegal here to obstruct traffic by driving
in the left lane regardless of how fast you're going. But that law is seldom enforced - it's just not worth the officer's time.
Speeding tickets are much easier to hand out.
Of course there are freak accidents where no one is to blame, but the vast majority have fault, often shared. Kenzie would like us to spend more time
figuring out why and eliminating the causes rather than shrugging them off as "accidents".
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NS Dev
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| posted on 1/11/05 at 06:33 PM |
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Ok, perhaps I was a little harsh then!
I will agree that many accidents are the fault of stupid mistakes made by inattentive drivers, but there lies another problem which many will disagree
with me on!
Low speed limits dull the reactions. This is a fact proven in scientific study. The lack of use of rapid reactions leads to the inability to use them
at all.........which I guess leads back to the "highway limits" argument I suppose!
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