Safe Speed Forums

Back in the dim and distant days when the M1 first opened, there was an hourly scheduled coach service between Birmingham and London Victoria. It was operated by Midland Red using special turbocharged coaches which cruised at 90-95 mph. No-one considered it to be unsafe although the bow-wave as they passed my Mini struggling to keep up to 70 was something! I don't recall them having any crashes.

Oh and don't trains in France do 186mph all day every day? Without the regular carnage we see over here?

I have been overtaken many times on US Interstates by huge trucks doing the thick end of 90 and have yet to see crash in many thousands of miles over there. Or a speed camera.

It comes down to competence and training. Why are police Class 1 chaps allowed to drive really fast? They have fairly normal cars like the rest of us. Training, thats what makes the difference

If I drive down the A40 from here to Oxford and do 59mph past the cameras (situated on a nice straight section) and someone comes the other way at 59mph and then does a badly misjudged overtake and hits me head on, we will have a 118mph collision and probably wont survive. But we were both obeying the speed limit...........

Oh well have a go at the bikers then is it.

The old git in the volvo cuts across the central line of the road when going round a right hand bend and is in the path of the motorcyclist who loses control taking avoiding action as the volvo driver pisses off into the distance oblivious to causing an accident

The couple out for a Sunday drive stop at the junction look and dont see anything and pull out into the path of the M/C which was only 20 yards away.

Reality check here speeding itself has little to do with M/C accidents, what causes them are

a Rider error be that misjudging what speed to take a corner (frequently far less than the limit and often safe far higher)

b Road conditions - diesel and poorly maintained roads have cost me more friends than speeding has

c Other drivers - you cant avoid the fact that the majority of accidents involving M/C are caused by another vehicle on the road. The MAIDS study (the only in depth study into M/C accidents) which took place over several years in several countries in Europe confirms this.

As to the fact that the whole fatalities have risen because of bikers, what a load of crap there were more bikers on the road last year (2003) because of the fine weather, so more of us died.

Try cleaning your wheels before you go on the highway, that way you would not put other road users at risk.



Incorrect, anyone found to be putting mud on the road are liable to Prosecution. Any construction company of reputable standard, ensures vehicles wheels are clean and free of any objects that can fly out into the vehicle behind.

Landfills use large water dips, to clean the wheels, maybe farmers should consider the same sort of thing & move other regulary to allow traffic to pass.

Even i admit their are alot of sensible tractor drivers out there, that do move over. However there is also alot of them that are not so sensible.

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Steve

I liked this one....................

THE family of a young man killed in a high-speed car crash is warning other drivers to learn a lesson from his death. Benjamin Waterman died instantly when his sports car smashed roof-first into a tree on the busy A33 near Winchester at 100mph. The 21-year-old had a reputation for driving too fast and had been warned by friends and family several times to cut his speed.

The tragedy happened on August 5 last year as Ben approached the junction with the Winchester road. He swerved to avoid another car, lost control and collided with the tree. He died instantly. One witness, who had been overtaken by Ben moments before, described how he saw the car swing sideways and tilt on to its side at the moment it hit the tree.

Stanley Gibbs, a civilian police crash investigator, described the wrecked car as having suffered "colossal distortion, with the floorpan of the vehicle forming a banana shape around the trunk of the tree". He added that witness evidence and the almost complete destruction of the car suggested he had been travelling at about 100mph when the crash happened.

Emergency services were unable to save the former forklift driver from East Stratton, near Winchester, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Recording a verdict of accidental death, Central Hampshire deputy coroner Simon Burge said: "This was a tragedy, but I have to say one which was not entirely unexpected. "There are a number of statements which suggest Ben was a driver who regularly drove at high speeds and had been warned by friends about the dangers of driving so quickly.''

Speaking after the inquest in Winchester, Ben's stepfather said: "I would like to emphasise that others can learn a valuable lesson from this tragedy. "He was going so stupidly fast. People should take note of what happens if you crash at that speed.''



Maybe he would have been allright if he had only been doing 10 miles an hour more............tragic........................cars should be made to go faster.

Or another happy poster who thought it wouldnt happen to him

A SPEEDING motorist was killed when his BMW collided with a crash barrier as police chiefs and politicians met to promote road safety on World Health Day. Scotland's senior transport leaders met yesterday at Hampden Park in Glasgow to announce plans to reduce the number of people killed on the roads each year. But as they did so, the driver, who has not been named and who is believed to have been doing more than 70mph in a 40mph zone, suffered horrific injuries after losing control while approaching Newbridge roundabout near Edinburgh Airport.

The 41-year- old driver was taken to hospital with severe head injuries but was dead on arrival. A number of roads in the area were closed for nearly six hours as crash investigation teams moved in. A passing motorist who saw the accident said: 'He just seemed to be going so fast. He was flying up to the roundabout. He was never going to stop in time. ' I just heard squealing brakes, a loud smash and then nothing. There was smoke from the tyres everywhere he must have died straight away.'


Wonder what he was thinking as he was throwing out the anchors.

Heres another one for you....

Motorcyclist returns home in time for tea after 3 hour ride at speeds in excess of 120 MPH

Today Mr .............. returned home just in time for his tea after reaching speeds in excess of 120 mph whilst on a ride in the Hampshire countryside.

Mr ............ stated on his return that he had had a most exhilerting and enjoyable trip covering some 180 miles in the 3 hours.

When asked as to the danger that he faced he stated that its no problem as he has plenty of experience to judge the safe speed for hazards and his machine is in good working order. Pressed on the risk of being caught speeding at speeds that would likely see him in prison, he laughed stating that Cameras are shite at catching speeders and theres no police left anymore due to the idiotic policies of the Labour Government.

Mr .......... had a large steak and some salad for his tea as he is managing his carbohydrate intake.

OK so this one was not published but then again neither are reports of the thousands of people who exceed the statutory speed limit every day but arrive home safely.

Now frack off ( I am a battlestar gallactica fan)

Speed Kills, you really don't have a clue what this forum is about, do you?

Every single member of this forum would agree that these two incidents are simply stupid behaviour leading to tragedy. None of us want anyone to drive any faster than the conditions dictate.

100mph in traffic is totally inappropriate, as is driving at 70mph in a 40mph zone approaching a roundabout.

But, 100mph on a deserted piece of straight, well maintained, road in clear weather is not necessarily either dangerous or inappropriate.

Why do you keep dredging up stories of stupidity and then try and use them to argue against speeding. Obviously both of these drivers had no regard for other road users or the conditions and suffered the consequences.

They are NOT the sort of drivers, or the sort of driving, that this forum supports.

Edited to correct the name, sorry to safe speed I meant "Speed Kills"

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Ross

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

But, to play devils advocate, the two individuals Speed Kills highlights above, are unlikely to have responded (before their untimely deaths) with...

"When asked as to the danger he faced he stated that was well aware that he regulalrly drove recklessly fast for the circumstances but didn't give a damn because accidents only happen to other people...."

Would they?

He would probably have said...

When asked as to the danger that he faced he stated that its no problem as he has plenty of experience to judge the safe speed for hazards...

Your right but they'd be lying as the one went into a junction at more than 100 mph clearly displaying that he had a poor level of judgement and observation.

You skirt round the fact though that there are millions of "speeding events" every day a small percentage of which will be caught on camera and a fraction of a fraction of a percent of which will lead to a death.

But you skirt around the fact that many of those who die don't actually think they are bad drivers or that their behaviour may see them in an early grave.
We do, after all, only have your word for it that your journey was done safely - I'm sure it was, but then again.... The fact that you are safely home tucking into your steak (was it good by the way? ) tonight, doesn't mean the same will happen tomorrow.

You're absolutely right, but there's no guarentee that the conditions, visibility, traffic density etc will mean that tomorrow I would feel safe riding as I did today, the key is to recognise the difference.

Co incidentally "many of those that die" do so as a result of poor driving at or below the speed limit. Speed is after all a factor in only 3-5% of fatal accidents, according to those that investigate them

Incidentally the DFT already accepts the fact that motorists can judge what is a safe speed by the way.

someone wrote
You skirt round the fact though that there are millions of "speeding events" every day a small percentage of which will be caught on camera and a fraction of a fraction of a percent of which will lead to a death

well there sre 10000 insurance claims a day in the uk

and when u use the uk roads you have a 1 in 200 chance of a "horible death" (The uk highway code) (ever read it?)

The two drivers I listed, could have been members on this board, by the way people talk. If they didnt think they were traveling at appropriote speeds, then why were they? Suicide maybe?

Actually that someone was me and you still have not answered



Most of which are for minor damage caused by low speed inattentive shunts and a vast proportion are for theft/theft from motor vehicles as there are no police left anymore thanks to an over reliance on technology



What absolute crap back that up with some statistics.



I doubt they would have been, check the name of the board and you'll see that it is safe speed, the key is to drive safely irresective of the speed of travel

Actually whilst I am on let me answer your original question

"Ever seen a 90 mph crash"

Actually I have, I have attended the scene of many and been to the postmortems of a little over 70 fatal accident victims.

The highest speed I have ever had to deal with was 135 mph which occurred on the Autobahn in Germany and killed two soldiers (driver & passenger) both had really terrible injuries and picking out the bits of skull from their brains was a long process for the pathologist. Still thats what happens when you hit a stationary truck at that speed and what you should expect if you drive at that speed in fog as these fools were.

Its all about safety you see.

On the other hand I have also been to the scene and post mortem of a sweet 5 year old who was run down in the married quarters by a soldier on his way to work. he was only doing the posted 20 mph limit, but wasn't looking where he was going at the time.

Its all about safety you see not speed.

Want me to go on?

At 4 years old I watched my 18 month old sister get run over and killed by an Ice cream van that decided to use our drive as a turning point so that ho could get to us wityhout driving down the street. less than 5 miles per hour going, reversing in a totally unappropriate place.

How many have you benn to? how many have affected you personally? how many of them actually involveed speeding vehicles? how many of them would have been better prevented by police on the road rather than cameras?

Read the board fool and you'll learn that this board supports real policemen, who can do the most good at reducing casuaties on our roads. My best guess is that you yourself wiould be a "failed to get in" who is now fulfilling the fantasy by sitting in a van by the side of the road.

Go on prove me wrong

Go Pa atch Go Pa atch.

Sick it to him, he does not understand what this forum is about and, it seems, never will.

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Ross

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

If you want to post news stories, then quote your reference source. Otherwise how are we to know that you're not making it up or exaggerating?

We're trying to work with the best possible information here, and stories without references are no better than anecdotes.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Err who? (maybe I don't get the joke... I don't know.)

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Sorry Paul,

original post edited to have the correct name "Speed Kills".

It's just that I think appropriate speed is always "safe" and automatically typed "safe" instead of "kills".

I think I did a whoopsie....

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Ross

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

No need to apologise, thanks. I just wondered what was going on.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Same old story, young in-experianced driver permitted to drive high powered sports car loses control.



Tragedy or stupidity



So who's fault was the accident?

which vehicle was in the wrong place?

Can we have the facts of the accident please

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Steve