Safe Speed Forums

http://www.shropshirestar.com/2009/09/1 ... y-smashes/

According to the shropshire Star...40% of crashes in Shropshire in the last few years have been down to drivers under 24....and yet they say that the people most like to get caught for speeding are the middle aged.....so why are they crashing more (the under 24s that is)....if they aren't getting caught for speeding maybe it isn't "speed" that's so dangerous for them.

If so, why so much emphasis on them having their licences revoked at six points?

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

It's fascinating that speeding is somehow classed as a "distraction". It seems they must mention speeding when it has nothing to do with the subject in question. Some young drivers think it's "cool" to drive badly I think. They act all blas'e about it when questioned I have seen this from numorous quotations from them. Like "yeah, I go around corners too fast, but my mates do to".

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Currently undergoing training with the I.A.M.

Were those who crashed going too fast to handle the problems they encountered?

Prevention is always better than cure or indeed a less severe accident too. But it is the current ethos of getting everyone to go slower in order that any accident is less severe, instead of placing the emphasis on not getting involved in an accident in the first place, (prevention), which is where current road polices are so completely and fatally flawed!

You are never going to address the poor KSI rate unless you recognise the need for education and training and stop persecuting drivers who have proved themselves to be good safe drivers over a long period of time while the 'speed kills' mantra is promulgated...

Elder drivers are getting done for speeding on the pretence that they are driving dangerously, when in fact they are not, whereas younger drivers who are more risk-takers and less experienced are not getting as many speeding offences. So why is this?

IMO, today’s generation have been born into a world where cameras have been commonplace for their adult life and they are generally quite accepting of them because they simply don’t know a world without them. Because they have grown up with them they are more aware of cameras but not better or safer drivers as a result.

The more mature and safer have been brought up in a world before cameras, so they are more likely to get snapped despite their experience and long term safe driving history. Years of driving has turned us elders into a group who are more focused on what really matters and of course not nearly as inclined to be out there to prove something to any peer group. Speed cameras are making a complete mockery of the whole road safety issue, especially with regard to the younger generation where the message they have had rammed down their throats during their limited driving experience is ‘Speed Kills’.

This is sending a very direct, clear and dangerous message to the next generation of drivers: ‘If you are not speeding then you are driving safely’. These same people, bought up on the Play Station etc. are very aware of cameras in ‘the game’ of driving but are not so aware there is no 'play again? or ‘number of lives left’ in the real world.

How's that for an answer?

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

If some of those who did crash were going too fast to handle the problems they encountered, then going more slowly makes sense. Anyway, why aren't mitigation and prevention both valid?

They are! Where did I say they were not?

On prevention: To be fair and balanced, I think by enlarge the Gov and local Councils by me most certainly have made some excellent road improvements for safety's sake

I can think back 30+ years ago to a junction, nearby, where it was like a chicken run to traverse a very dangerous crossroads on a busy urban , where now there is an island which has made it so much safer. To my knowledge no-one has been killed there ever since thank goodness. (and thanks to common sense for once!)

I am not so arrogant as to think I could never be involved in an accident and TBH anyone who says differently about themselves is being parsimonious with the truth! I'm simply saying it hasn't happened to me for a very long time for some strange reason whereas I seemed to have spills when I was young which were 'never' my fault mate

If someone pulls out in front of me or drifts onto my side of the road because they are jabbering on a mob-phone, fiddling with radio or A/C or a biker takes a bend too fast and I am faced with a head-on collision and unwittingly helps with organ donation I am going to join the KSI. As a biker myself, I am constantly aware of a SMIDSY, which does not switch off when I'm driving a car BTW.

On mitigation: If someone young and inexperienced encounters an ice patch on a bend shaded by trees on a frosty but sunny autumn morning, where the entire length of the same road before and after was both dry and 'grippy', then careers-off and hurts someone - that does not constitute a manic or someone speeding. (Happened to me in 1975, but just me and my wage packet got hurt. It was wage packets back then and I still carry the scar on my arm )

So then - should the book have been thrown at me? Well it wasn't, although I don't know what would happen these days...

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

Possibly more like ,that with relatively little experience of driving over a certain speed( yet still within the speed limit, and the limit is a speed ,obviously, that is innapropriate for them, in the situation) ,they do not have the capacity to focus on much more than the road ahead ,and why as their speed increases,their ability to look sufficiently far ahead diminishes and they are forced to react to immediate problems rather than plan ahead .

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
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

The underlined text was corrected so as to increase accuracy, relevancy, and safety value.

If you're distracted, you may actually have your foot on the accelerator when you should be covering the brake pedal. (Since I have an automatic transmission, my left foot is ALWAYS covering the brake pedal.)

Even if you're just cruising, under the posted speed 'limit' - let's say 30 MpH; I'm from New York - but not covering the brake pedal, distracted, your chances of unintentionally noticing that you just struck someone at 29MpH go way up. You broke Rule #1, but you weren't speeding, so you must not be at fault for permanently changing the life of the pedestrian who was either not paying attention, or adamant about crossing despite the red hand (international DON'T WALK sign) in their face. Nevermind that impact speed only equaled traveling speed because of a failure on the driver to pay attention to what they were supposed to be doing. All apologies, and the Amerikan health insurance system sucks.

Or ...
You could be doing 45Mph in the 30MpH zone that is midtown Manhattan - strongly recommended against, but rarely possible - moving your head and eyes like you're paranoid. Should the need arise, you do not waste an inch of brake pedal, make your car do a nosestand, and come to a complete stop ... while the pedestrian might've even fled the potential point of impact because they heard you braking desperately and/or noticed your car doing a nosestand and realized they should do their part to avoid breaking Rule #1.

In two seconds, a car traveling 29MpH = 85 Feet. From the moment the brake is depressed to a complete stop, a moderately roadworthy car will finish an emergency stop from 45MpH in less than 85 feet. Middle fingers and epithets are exchanged, KSI avoided.

If we take the more likely tack of a very mildly distracted driver who takes an average amount of time to think and move their foot from the gas to the brake, you'd still find that they've wasted several precious yards if their feet weren't already on the brake, regardless of how fast they were going.

They may have also been hesitating - probably less than a second - unwilling to remove their foot from the go-pedal, hoping they could just keep going.

The other thing you may find is that most people can't even extract 70% of their car's peak braking performance once they do finally get their foot on the brake, much less 100%. Hello, Brake Assist.

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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

This, speed is only 1 factor of risk, using the phone, doing something stupid because your bored, showing off are others young people are more likely to do and therefore more likely to crash.



I don't know cameras, as does no young driver in Ireland yet we're still fully capable of crashing more than older people, see previous point.



Nail. Head.



Very very true, too true, you actually have no idea how much people genuinely believe that.



If video games really affect real life then wouldn't all of ye be going around munching little white pills, listening to repetitive music and looking over your shoulder because your sure someone if following you?

" This is sending a very direct, clear and dangerous message to the next generation of drivers: ‘If you are not speeding then you are driving safely’.



Very very true, too true, you actually have no idea how much people genuinely believe that."

It's got to the point round here (mainly middle aged women it seems) that you can almost guarantee that if you spot them , sticking rigidly to the limit - 2MPH, that they will not look in their mirrors/indicate/take the correct road position because it's as though they have ONLY one criteria for safe driving....."I must not exceed the speed limit"

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

No problem bro and fellow Queen fan

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

I was going to add that another falsehood from my statement also applies i.e. 'If you are going over the limit then you must be driving dangerously'.

I would bet the majority of drivers involved in an accident will say, if not immediately then soon into the dialogue that follows, "I wasn't speeding"

As though that phrase trumps any wrongdoing!

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

They return to provisional as they perhaps prove to us that they need to learn a bit more

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Take with a chuckle or a grain of salt
Drive without COAST and it's all your own fault!

A SMILE is a curve that sets everything straight (P Diller).

A Smiley Per post
FINES USfor our COAST!

Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon - but driving with a smile and a COAST calm mind.

Learn more what?

I'm all for giving younger drivers constraints to make it easier for them to learn how to pay better attention. (Amerikan graduated licensing is a start.)

None of it actually improves their ability to pay quality attention, though.

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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

I would be more interested in looking at the stats for young drivers vehicles involved in accidents with regard to the condition of the vehicle.
Tyres. Brakes. Lights.
Looking at several in the village (those with a history of high-speed driving) I am struck by the state of the tyres on practically all of them. LOADS of tread in the middle/inside of the tyre but nil on the outside...a sure sigh of excessive cornering speed.
And what about the lights ?
One has a habit of driving on side lights....which (in his car) comprise two lines of white leds, one line each side of the vehicle.
No: I've looked at the driving of young drivers and have serious questions about whether enough is done to acquaint them with information about the damage they will do if they hit someone, and I also doubt if they care enough about others anyway !

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

I think you simply have to look at yourself to get the answer

When I was young my eyesight was better but my observation was woefully inferior to now. Combine that with what I call the madness of youth, (the sense of immortality that most youngsters feel they have), and you absolutely have a recipe for disaster.

I wouldn’t trade what I have learnt for all the tea in China. Looking back, I was lucky to get into my twenties alive, and still acted foolishly for some time after that.

I’m ashamed to say I was the kind of person I complain about now to be honest. (Don’t know if that makes me a hypocrite).

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

Two major issues that I can fully confirm. Think part of being young is enjoying the selfishness of it and being arrogant about it. All in the name of having a good time. I know I shouldn't do it but it always happens

Young people are learning about life in varying degrees of attitude, skill, knowledge and ability. hence the scale that some 'make it through' unscathed to those that sadly die.
The belief of immortality when we are / were young is very high, how else would we ever have brave young solders, pilots etc etc ?
We have to surely cherish this great will and desire for life, learning responsibility, and understanding their 'place / roll' in society.
I agree tell them in so many words that 'drive up to a specific speed limit makes you safe', will probably and has likely, I feel sure, killed several of them which is tragic.
When good and intelligent road safety messages are replaced by target motivated incentive misguided non-sense it is very concerning.
As Paul said; [paraphrasing] one day someone will sue (likely closely linked to this Government Policy), and maybe then it will end, as it will have been deemed too expensive then, to continue with.

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Safe Speed for Intelligent Road Safety through proper research, experience & guidance.

I consider that there is enough "out there" for young/new drivers to become much better and longer-living drivers.
The incentive is there, not only from the new drivers act (6-points-and-your-test-pass-is-history) but also from pass-plus (and its resulting insurance premiums being lower) and the higher-level training that the drivers CAN obtain at reasonable cost. If they WANT to. This is also another reason why blanket set-cost insurance premiums are a step backwards.
The very young have problems (some, not all) in their approach to not only driving, but life.
Their need to "big themselves up" is a hindrance to better driving, because it involves not being like old people (anyone over 30).
And the fact that they are immortal doesn't help (!)
I have always thought that wearing a peaked cap in reverse in hardly helpful, since the head must be tilted forward to avoid the neck being abraded by the edge of the peak. But that may be me...and may also explain why the peak is tilted to one side...which must also mean they hit things more on one side than the other !

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

Do you get much of a discount (and thus incentive) on insurance cost for Pass Plus?

If you use confused.com for a quote search, I can't remember a question being asked about this. Perhaps this is because I'm old though.

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.