JoelP
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| posted on 25/4/08 at 09:05 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by oldtimer
Speed limits are designed to protect pedestrians and other road users, children, cyclists, motorcyclists and drivers from others and ourselves. Speed
kills, speeding in urban areas kills a lot. I am not a policeman but honestly believe they are necessary - the only problem is that law abiding people
stick to them and dangerous people exceed them - intentionally or not - hence the need for speed cameras. Yes, it is the job of the police to protect
us.....from speeding motorists.
there's a time and a place for speed limits. This isnt one of them 
The dangerous drivers i see day in day out arent usually the ones going too fast. In fact, i dont recall seeing anyone going dangerously fast
recently, though admittedly im always on motorways where the goalposts are different. The near misses i see most often are people not seeing cars in
their blind spots, and a similar theme, people making snap decisions without being fully aware of what is happening around them.
Last two times where ive nearly crashed were someone missing a junction and doing an emergency stop in the 3rd lane, and a lorry pulling out of a
layby and forcing another car into my path. Both times saw me hurtling past on the central reservation. My speed would've aggrevated the
incidents but not have caused either.
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robinj66
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| posted on 25/4/08 at 09:36 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Paul TigerB6
6 month ban seems excessive but i dont know what the norm is to be fair.
Unfortunately the minimum ban for a "totter" (acruing 12 points or more) is 6 months for the first time.
the second time, the minimum is 12 months;
the third time, the minimum is 2 years.
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 25/4/08 at 09:37 PM |
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I'm an old fogey in training (got quite a few years to do yet before I get my diploma) but I can still remember when I was a new driver.
I recall very clearly that if I did something silly there was a very significant chance that I would get pulled over by a policeman. Also, if I had a
car fault like a blown indicator or dud headlight I'd get pulled within a week and given a 7-day wonder. Nowadays you rarely see a police car on
patrol, and every day I see the same old cars with headlights gone - a significant number running on fog lights because both dipped headlights are
blown! (I kid you not). After a while, if people realise that they can get away with the little crimes, they move onto bigger crimes.
This is not a pop at the police themselves, but at their most senior bosses (probably the government) who think that machines and paperwork are more
useful than people out on the beat. The bean counters have destroyed the whole system of effective policing.
I have a strong memory of a holiday in a village in Bavaria, just next to the Austrian border. Every evening, at some random time, a patrol car drove
down one side of the main street. The passenger had his window wound down and was peering into every doorway and alley, with a torch where necessary.
A little later he drove back and checked out the other side. When was the last time that a UK cop was able to do checks like that?
This attitude has a strong ripple effect: I remember hearing a small motorbike approaching this village with engine screaming: as he got to the 50kph
sign you could hear the bike quieten down. He then trundled through until he got to the end-of-village sign, at which point he roared off again. Why?
Because he knew that there was a fair chance that there would be a police car around, and he didn't want to get pulled.
Another example was shown in the papers and on the local news - a UK policeman had joined a US police force and was a lot happier. On reason was the
lack of paperwork: if he arrested someone in the UK he could look forward to several hours of paperwork. In the US he had 20 minutes, maximum. He
handed the villain over to the desk sergeant who dealt with all that - 30 minutes later he was back out on the road looking for baddies again.
I'm quite sure that the men and women in the police would much rather do more practical policing...
<end rant>
PS: I've just got back from the pub, so apologies for any sign of rambling! 
[Edited on 25/4/08 by David Jenkins]
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smart51
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| posted on 25/4/08 at 09:53 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Scoobylav
... an artic almost rear end a rover as it (the rover) must have been doing all of 35mph. Blinkin ridiculous. Almost caused a major pileup with
everyone hitting the anchors.
Clearly the fault of the artic not the Rover. You are responsible for watching the road ahead. If you come up behind slower traffic, you are
responsible for adjusting your speed and overtaking where safe. If he had to "slam on his anchors" he wasn't watching where he was
going enough. If others had to do the same to avoid the artic, they too weren't driving well enough.
Despite being a nuisance, the Rover is perfectly entitled to drive slowly and is not the cause of accidents by other drivers. The law is very clear
on this point.
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Jon Ison
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| posted on 25/4/08 at 09:58 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by oldtimer
Speed limits are designed to protect pedestrians and other road users, children, cyclists, motorcyclists and drivers from others and ourselves. Speed
kills, speeding in urban areas kills a lot. I am not a policeman but honestly believe they are necessary - the only problem is that law abiding people
stick to them and dangerous people exceed them - intentionally or not - hence the need for speed cameras. Yes, it is the job of the police to protect
us.....from speeding motorists.
I take it you have never found yourself over the limit then ? Well done, your the only person in GB that as managed to do so. I got nabbed on a brand
new duel carriageway the nearest thing to me was a couple of sheep, 6 miles on a school, where should they be enforcing the law ? Protect the sheep or
the children ?
ps I was a massive 2mph over what I genuinely thought to be the speed limit and have still to speak to anyone (unless they have been caught out like
myself) who was aware a van as different speed limits to a car ?
[Edited on 25/4/08 by Jon Ison]
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D Beddows
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| posted on 25/4/08 at 10:15 PM |
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To get back to the original post for a moment ...... I really do have every sympathy but I'm afraid if I was one speeding offence away from a
ban I would be driving everywhere like a nervous pensioner on a day out to the seaside in a Rover 200 with my bowling club mates 
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JoelP
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| posted on 25/4/08 at 10:28 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by smart51
quote:
Originally posted by Scoobylav
... an artic almost rear end a rover as it (the rover) must have been doing all of 35mph. Blinkin ridiculous. Almost caused a major pileup with
everyone hitting the anchors.
Clearly the fault of the artic not the Rover. You are responsible for watching the road ahead. If you come up behind slower traffic, you are
responsible for adjusting your speed and overtaking where safe. If he had to "slam on his anchors" he wasn't watching where he was
going enough. If others had to do the same to avoid the artic, they too weren't driving well enough.
Despite being a nuisance, the Rover is perfectly entitled to drive slowly and is not the cause of accidents by other drivers. The law is very clear
on this point.
The law is an ass. I get pissed off enough by people who do 70, but going slower than the HGVs is totally unacceptable. They waste hundreds of man
hours over the couse of a year, and there is no reason to justify travelling so slow.
The law does not define right and wrong, it is merely a list of instructions devised over the years. Just because most laws are fair doesnt mean they
all are. Hence i dont feel compelled to obey the law where i dont agree with it.
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D Beddows
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| posted on 25/4/08 at 10:35 PM |
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And HGVs overtaking another HGVs but only going going .25 mph faster so taking 5 miles or so and effectively blocking 2 lanes of a 3 lane motorway
while they do doesn't waste thousands of man hours a year??
[Edited on 25/4/08 by D Beddows]
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JoelP
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| posted on 25/4/08 at 10:39 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by D Beddows
And HGVs overtaking another HGVs but only going going .25 mph faster for 5 miles or so and effectively blocking 2 lanes of a 3 lane motorway while
they do doesn't waste hundreds of man hours a year??
[Edited on 25/4/08 by D Beddows]
did i imply that it wouldnt?
if you thought before you typed, you'd realise that both situation put HGVs in the middle lane and cause delays.
[Edited on 25/4/08 by JoelP]
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D Beddows
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| posted on 25/4/08 at 10:55 PM |
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Yeah but you have just said that people who obey the speed limit annoy you and that the speed you drive would actually have made a couple of potential
accidents worse than they had the potential to have been...... Personally I 'm not sure that's either especially big or clever tbh
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mangogrooveworkshop
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| posted on 25/4/08 at 11:26 PM |
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roll on 25 october
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JoelP
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| posted on 25/4/08 at 11:47 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by D Beddows
Yeah but you have just said that people who obey the speed limit annoy you and that the speed you drive would actually have made a couple of potential
accidents worse than they had the potential to have been...... Personally I 'm not sure that's either especially big or clever tbh
Well if thats what you meant you should've said it first time!
Im not perfect, i started as a very irresponsible driver, driving beyond my ability. With experience ive improved my standards greatly, curtailing the
more extreme driving antics, and indeed i rarely exceed the limit in urban situations. Theres undoubtedly room for improvement in motorway habits, but
at the risk of sounding overconfident (and indeed a complete twat) i feel i balance risks well on the road.
[Edited on 25/4/08 by JoelP]
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oldtimer
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| posted on 26/4/08 at 06:24 AM |
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I am pretty appauled by pro speeding sentiments. Speed limits are set for safety not to reduce our enjoyment. As an ex firefighter I can assure you
that cutting the bodies of speeders out of cars is pretty awful, cutting out of twisted wrecks the bodies of innocent people killed by speeders is
even more heartbreaking. I believe that anyone who thinks speeding on our roads is accectable needs retraining, the IAM come to mind. Anyone who has
been 'caught' by a camera in a bright yellow box stuck up a pole should accept that their observational skills on the road are very poor,
again, retraining and the IAM come to mind. Keep speed on the track.
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Jon Ison
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| posted on 26/4/08 at 08:24 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by oldtimer
I am pretty appauled by pro speeding sentiments. Speed limits are set for safety not to reduce our enjoyment. As an ex firefighter I can assure you
that cutting the bodies of speeders out of cars is pretty awful, cutting out of twisted wrecks the bodies of innocent people killed by speeders is
even more heartbreaking. I believe that anyone who thinks speeding on our roads is accectable needs retraining, the IAM come to mind. Anyone who has
been 'caught' by a camera in a bright yellow box stuck up a pole should accept that their observational skills on the road are very poor,
again, retraining and the IAM come to mind. Keep speed on the track.
Have you ever found yourself inadvertently or otherwise over the speed limit ? I was clocked by a van which I did see doing 72 in what I genuinely
believed to be a 70.
I agree 100% re urban areas etc but there are area's where the limit is ass, I suggest by your soapbox stance your one of those guys that sit in
the 3rd lane of a motoryway at 69.9mph with a que a mile long behind you and the inside two lanes clear thinking to your self "its 70, your
staying behind"
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 26/4/08 at 01:34 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by oldtimer
Speed kills
Sorry but this is the crap that the Scamera Prats, and emotionaly crippled fools such as Brake trot out. Speed quite clearly does not kill, otherwise
we would all be dead.
Inappropriate speed for the conditions is certainly likely to increase the risk of serious accidents and deaths. However, the inappropriate speed may
be above or below the arbitrary number stuck on a post at the side of the road. In particular, 30mph is very often too fast in urban areas,
but 90mph may carry negligible risk on a motorway in the right conditions.
The focus on speed alone is a clear sign that there is little interest in road saftey, and the fact that road deaths have remained largely staic for
many years (despite large advances in vehicle saftey) shows that it doesn't work anyway.
Scrapping all automated speed enforcement and replacing it with real traffic coppers is the only way that the truly dangerous driving that does cause
deaths will be reduced. Unfortunately that costs money rather than generates it, so it's a non-starter.
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JoelP
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| posted on 26/4/08 at 03:51 PM |
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here here
or is that hear hear?
[Edited on 26/4/08 by JoelP]
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Peteff
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| posted on 26/4/08 at 05:26 PM |
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I got pulled up for speeding but it was by a real policeman who told me off and gave me a producer. I try not to speed now and am amazed at the number
of people who try to get you to go faster by driving closer and closer to the back bumper. I watch them drumming their fingers on the steering wheel
and muttering to themselves and think how wound up they must be. If you had to be somewhere at a certain time you should set off earlier is my take.
If you get caught live with it, it was your turn.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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smart51
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| posted on 26/4/08 at 08:17 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Jon Ison
I suggest by your soapbox stance your one of those guys that sit in the 3rd lane of a motoryway at 69.9mph with a queue a mile long behind you and the
inside two lanes clear thinking to your self "its 70, your staying behind"
A stickler for the law would know that the right hand lane is for overtaking only/ He or she would surely move left when appropriate ( )
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JoelP
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| posted on 26/4/08 at 08:26 PM |
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^^^ if only!
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mangogrooveworkshop
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| posted on 1/5/08 at 09:30 AM |
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no comment
well kinda says it all
[Edited on 1-5-08 by mangogrooveworkshop]
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