Safe Speed Forums

I think you missed the point. I drive. I enjoy driving. I get screwed everytime I full up, get a tax disc or drive down a road coverd in stupid bumps. I get screwed everytime I try and park it or sit is a jam created by bad road management.

Now I am subjected to a guilt trip about the environment and pedestrian safety and all the other PC crap that goes with it.

So I don't give a toss. I do not care how much CO2 the car produces. I don't care if there is a 0.001% increase in the pedestrian fatality rate from this car. I don't care if what I drive or where I drive upsets someone else.

I don't car because I am "expected" to care. I am told that I "must" care and that I am irresponsible not to. Because I drive I am made to feel guilty and I don't.

Otherwise I am a good driver who is curteous to other drivers. I drive safe and I have a very good track record on the roads so far. Just don't ever tell me what I shoud or should not care about...

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Speed camera policy Kills

I think that is totaly irresponsible. What happens if a child runs out infront of you..... You have increased the chances of killing someone by your actions.

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Speed camera policy Kills

That's why I drive so carefully! Just joking, my cars are quite safe and well maintained. The consensus of many studies over many years seems to be that a quite small number of accidents are caused by mechanical faults (e.g. 1% or 2%). The vast majority are due driver error.

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I stole this .sig

Well, there might be some Homer Simpson types that applies to and that go into "must have one" mode as soon as they see an advert for something flash on TV. Not necessarily a car either. But we all buy things we don't need. I don't need my DVD player or TV, I don't need the microwave or the coffee machine, I could get by without this computer. On the most basic level we need food, clothing and shelter, and in our modern society, transport so we can go earn money to pay for the first three. That's about it. That'd be surviving though, not living. I see nothing wrong in buying something to make you feel good, whether it's a nicer suit, a nicer house, or a nicer car. The motor industry may well be guilty of sexing up their products, but do you really think they're the worst? What about consumer electronics? If I'm honest, I need my car, but I don't absolutely need the TV, the VCR, the DVD, the PC and all it's peripherals, the laptop, the mobile phone, coffee machine, the microwave... I could go on and on, but the only thing in my house with a plug that I consider indispensable is the fridge-freezer. And what about the cosmetics industry? Aren't they guilty of selling and marketing products with absolutely no practical purpose beyond making the consumer feel good? At least a car, even something with lots of zeros on the price tag which has been bought as a status symbol, can be used for more practical purposes than cosmetics or DVD players. If you're going to question why people buy things they don't need and why industries try to tempt customers to do that, I think there are better candidates for your disapproval than the motor industry. Personally I have no more of a problem with people who buying a car that they'll enjoy driving than with women buying lipstick.

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Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler - Einstein

Not speeding then? Sorry mate, couldn't resist.

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Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler - Einstein

But don't you think it is irresponsible of you to drive a car which would result in a significantly greater risk of pedestrian injury.. You may be a careful driver but what if little jonny runs out in front of you.

That is very selfish..

My car was built last year. Which makes me a much more responsible owner....

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Speed camera policy Kills

You can't crash into people in those things, so it matters less how they are marketed. There are practical reasons for having cars - as appliances for getting to work and hauling stuff back from the hardware store. But instead, car manufacturers make much of their power and speed and how strong you look in them! Cars as jewellery. But these expectations are frustrated on our crowded roads and who could care less about what anybody else is driving anyway. I can understand why women buy makeup, but why do guys buy mobile mechanical body armour? Penis envy?



Speeding is driver error, especially if you get caught!

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I stole this .sig

Yes, yes, Gizmo, have your fun. Now if you stay within the speed limits as well, I'd be really impressed.

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I stole this .sig

Love to but can't promise anything....
After all to err is human.

I suppose I had better put a super snooper on my list for Santa..

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Speed camera policy Kills

So? You can still do that in a non-sexy vehicle marketed in a completely different way. I can see what your saying about people getting sucked in by the marketing, but doesn't that say more about the consumers who fall for it? And if they're going to respond to that sort of marketing can you blame the motor companies for using it to sell their products? Besides, you can still crash into someone in a Perodua, which is hardly marketed in a sexy way. They seem to promote low cost and practicality, yet misused it can still be as lethal as an Aston or something else that gets Jeremy Clarkson salivating. The marketing is irrelevant to the safety issue.

Not sure I'd describe any of the current adverts in quite that way, but if by "cars as jewellery" you're saying that the adverts push its looks or its appeal as a status symbol, then yes, I'm with you there. I just don't have an issue with it.

Me neither. I care more about what I'm driving. Not to impress anyone else, but for entirely personal reasons. One of which is that I enjoy driving it.

Eh? So when a bloke buys a car it's mechanical body armour. What is it when a woman buys a car? A little even handedness, please! Besides, anyone with half an ounce of sense will not be buying a car as body armour, since there's no gurantee it'll perform as such.

Is it less of an error if you don't get caught? Actually, don't answer that in case we get into noiseless trees falling over in unpopulated forests. I know what you mean. But (and you know what I'm going to say ) speeding is not necessarily a driver error in itself, but driving at an inappropriate speed is always a driver error. Incidentally, I'd include driving at too low a speed as well.

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Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler - Einstein

I can only say that basingwerk is VERY good at getting a response. This thread has been totally hijacked and sent down a meaningless track, mainly by basingwerk, and yet we are still bartering to his crap.

I am equally guilty, but when I respond these days I try to have fun and not get "sucked in" by his taunts. He is, for the most part, a waste of time and any crap post he makes should be ignored or laughed at.

Please stop getting totally sucked in and continually responding to him. We ALL know he will NEVER change his views or even allow the possibility that anyone else may have a point here, other than speed kills types, so by all means respond but do so in jest and do not take his crap on board.

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Ross

Yes I'm a hoon, but only on the track!!!!

You forgot to mention that tw*t.. "speed kills"

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Speed camera policy Kills

LOL - That would be me!

See my poll thread for a discussion of Petrol v. Diesel.

For goodness sake, Ross! This is the chat forum.

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I stole this .sig

If you mean "twit", have the guts to write "twit"

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I stole this .sig

You are incorrigible!

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@ Teabelly. You said a V6 Punto or similar would do for you. Angeltuning can get 170bhp from a 1.9 jtd Punto and it is scarily quick with no compromise on reliability or longevity!

It does say something about consumers who fall for it, and that’s why it’s good that PeterE has brought this question into the light. People buy things they don’t need and can barely afford because of the pervasive effects of ‘Pax America’ consumerism. With all due respect, marketing has deep effects on the culture, including safety aspects. Let’s not pretend that all this money these companies spend on glamorising the car culture is for our (the consumers’) benefit. Let us be aware of this when we make buying decisions. Ads are crap. If you have no issue with that, perhaps you can see through them, which is a good thing and I hope we all can.

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170bhp from a nicely tuned petrol engine would be fine but I don't think I could stand the noise of a diesel The alfa 147 with the same jtd engine is quieter so tuning that to 170bhp might be more of a possibility.

Hmmm, a different topic for a totally different board brewing there. Maybe even one on which you and I would agree more often. Yes and no. The ultimate goal of marketing is to increase turnover and to persuade a potential customer to buy company X's product instead of company Y's. That is of no particular benefit to the consumer. But if they go about it by improving the product, and in cars a lot of emphasis is on safety features these days, then marketing that point is arguably to the benefit of the consumer. Now I think about it I feel you're being a bit unfair over the motor industry's advertising. I can't think of any current ads that could be said to glamourise performance. The closest might be the RX8 ads, but to me that said "buy one and enjoy the drive" not "buy one and cane the nuts off it". A lot of ads seem to be aimed at the couple with 2.4 kids, dog and mortgage, and go on about stuff like economy, safety, practicality and so on.
Okay, you got me there. It's sensible to take ads with a pinch of salt, particularly if you're going to fork out a load of cash. Still, I don't think there's anything wrong with buying with the heart instead of the head, just as long as we're each aware of it when we do so and don't pretend that it's a sensible buying decision if it's something we buy just for fun or the feel good factor.

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Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler - Einstein