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PostPosted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 00:27 
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SafeSpeed wrote:
You know you're driving too fast when you exceed optimal arousal. (See: http://www.safespeed.org.uk/arousal.html )

By some magic my subconscious knows extremely well if I'm not driving at the right speed. 10mph too slow and it's nagging me to overtake or otherwise get on with it. 10mph too fast and it's making me feel stress.


I think these two really sum it up for me. I sort of reduce it to "I know I'm driving too fast when I'm out of my comfort zone"

May not work for everybody as some people are more or less risk adverse than me. (obviously)

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PostPosted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 00:33 
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I see three main aspects to "too fast", any of which qualify the situation:

*Inability to control the vehicle through manoeuvre. (Losing it on a corner, clipping a kerb, etc.)
*Inability to process sufficient stimuli. (Missing signage, not looking far enough ahead, tunnel vision, and making incorrect/no decisions based on inputs)
*Inability to react safely to emergent situations. (Blind bends on single-track roads/before junctions etc.)

The first is very dependant upon road and vehicle conditions, the second on driver aptitude, training and experience, and the third on road layout and light/visibility/traffic conditions.


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PostPosted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 00:35 
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gopher wrote:
I think these two really sum it up for me. I sort of reduce it to "I know I'm driving too fast when I'm out of my comfort zone"

May not work for everybody as some people are more or less risk adverse than me. (obviously)


I agree wholeheartedly, and you highlight a very pertinent point. Comfort zone does not automatically equal safe speed, and it is very much down to driver experience, and attitude, how much the two overlap.


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PostPosted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 02:26 
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RobinXe wrote:
gopher wrote:
I think these two really sum it up for me. I sort of reduce it to "I know I'm driving too fast when I'm out of my comfort zone"

May not work for everybody as some people are more or less risk adverse than me. (obviously)


I agree wholeheartedly, and you highlight a very pertinent point. Comfort zone does not automatically equal safe speed, and it is very much down to driver experience, and attitude, how much the two overlap.


Yes, true, but hold on one very important second...

In an experienced driver there's been a feedback loop acting to calibrate his speed sense for however many years he's been gathering experience. This process must end up verging on perfect for most of us because we demonstrably get it right - crashes are rare, and crashes due to inappropriate speed rarer still.

So instead of being concerned that 'normal drivers' are getting it wrong, we need to be concerned about two groups:

- Those that don't notice the risk. Mostly they will be inexperienced, rushing into danger without having the experience to know that it's happening.

- Those that don't mind (or even enjoy) the risk. These would be the nutters, the thrill seekers and so on.

When the inexperienced or the nutters have crashes that should NEVER inform the debate about the behaviour of the rest of us.

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PostPosted: Tue Dec 11, 2007 16:28 
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Can't find any mention of this elsewhere ,but it's an idea I wonder if others have noticed?

Possibly on certain types of roads ( DC,M/WAYS) "too fast "could be related to the speed at which attention is diverted from mirror /vehicle proximity to almost 100% attention to the road ahead. Number of times I (and no doubt others on here ) have been overtaking in say L3 of a motorway and for some reason the car in L2 would like /needs to get into L3 --most cases ,eas of the peddle, flash , he gets out (usually with a wave/ etc) and life goes back to normal.
Up to recently I put the ones who did not see the flash as being part of poor driving.
Possibly could even be a cause for middle lane sitting ?
But could it be that as the driver speeds up , there is an "attention deficit" toward the items not immediately related to forward viewing and motion ?

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Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 16:53 
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When the only answer to a surprise you or anyone else can provide absolutely requires an immediate, unplanned, and gross reaction that demands a minimum of 70% or more of either your capabilites, your cars, or the other drivers' or their cars' capabilities, whichever is least ...
and all other answers result in a car colliding with someone or something at greater than 1 MpH.
All capabilities are weather-dependent, thus pushin it in the dry, equals too fast in the rain, equals WTF in the snow.

Go ahead, ask me how I came up with 70%, and 1MpH.
Part two of this answer is in the neighborhood of 150Mph, because above such speeds, you can't move your head and eyes back and forth quickly enough to make up for the combined effects of tunnel-vision at speed, the relative perceptual growth of your optic nerves' blind spots, and the fact that most brains will actually be gathering info at a faster rate than can be processed.

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The Rules for ALL ROAD USERS:
1) No one gets hurt
2) Nothing gets hit, except to protect others; see Rule#1
3) The Laws of Physics are invincible and immutable - so-called 'laws' of men are not
4) You are always immediately and ultimately responsible for your safety first, then proximately responsible for everyone's
Do not let other road users' mistakes become yours, nor yours become others
5) The rest, including laws of the land, is thoughtful observation, prescience, etiquette, decorum, and cooperation


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