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PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 00:36 
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Well? I'm waiting.................................................? Maybe others too......................................................................... :roll:

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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.


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 00:54 
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Safety and logic don't go together in the council highways dept eyes... ;-)

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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.


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 11:02 
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dcbwhaley wrote:
malcolmw wrote:
The short answer is that instead of road safety being the sole criterion for setting speed limits, this process has been corrupted


What is wrong for considering broader issues than road safety when setting speed limits?

Will you be first one to say "Well, we assessed the most appropriate and safest speed limit for the road but then we changed it to one more hazardous because of political pressure?"

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PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 21:31 
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20 mph has recently been painted on roads near me. This is NOT for safety but mearly a revenue collection device. I expect all built up areas will be 20 mph soon.

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PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 22:20 
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taxtaxtax wrote:
20 mph has recently been painted on roads near me. This is NOT for safety but mearly a revenue collection device. I expect all built up areas will be 20 mph soon.


Well, if you get done it's just a taxtaxtax on the stupidstupidstupid.


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 09:38 
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malcolmw wrote:
dcbwhaley wrote:
What is wrong for considering broader issues than road safety when setting speed limits?

Will you be first one to say "Well, we assessed the most appropriate and safest speed limit for the road but then we changed it to one more hazardous because of political pressure?"


You sound like a politician - answering a question with another, irrelevant, question. :)
I have yet to be convinced that lowering a speed limit will make the road more hazardous for pedestrians. But it will often improve their " quality of life"

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PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 11:59 
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The implication of your view is that speed limits can only ever be reduced and never increased to the most appropriate and safest.

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PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 15:54 
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malcolmw wrote:
The implication of your view is that speed limits can only ever be reduced and never increased to the most appropriate and safest.


Again I have yet to be convinced that raising speed limits can ever increase safety

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PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 16:17 
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dcbwhaley wrote:
Again I have yet to be convinced that raising speed limits can ever increase safety

Montana (even if only by displacement).

Raising motorway limits would displace drivers from more hazardous roads (hazardous meaning the likelihood of a collision, for a journey, is increased). Even doing so outside of peak times would displace some traffic from the congested periods thus lowering overall hazard density.

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PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 17:22 
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Steve wrote:
dcbwhaley wrote:
Again I have yet to be convinced that raising speed limits can ever increase safety

Montana (even if only by displacement).

Raising motorway limits would displace drivers from more hazardous roads (hazardous meaning the likelihood of a collision, for a journey, is increased). Even doing so outside of peak times would displace some traffic from the congested periods thus lowering overall hazard density.


The post with which I took issue was about the role of Local Authorities in setting speed limits and my concern is about the effect of speed limits on pedestrians. Neither of those considerations apply to Motorways and I agree that in that context the quoted remark is appropriate. I have no problem with raising or even abolishing Motorway speed limits.

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PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 18:05 
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dcbwhaley wrote:
The post with which I took issue was about the role of Local Authorities in setting speed limits and my concern is about the effect of speed limits on pedestrians. Neither of those considerations apply to Motorways and I agree that in that context the quoted remark is appropriate. I have no problem with raising or even abolishing Motorway speed limits.

OK. I think we can agree your statement I took issue isn't universally applicable.
I would also extend my argument beyond motorways to cover many rural areas too, such as bypasses, or simply where one wouldn't expect pedestrians to be crossing (or crossing with pedestrian lights).

Of course, many wouldn't like to see an increase of many residential 30 limits.

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PostPosted: Thu Dec 24, 2009 18:27 
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Big Tone wrote:
:idea: Alternatively, they could have left the bumps as far from the curb as they are but stagger them so the traffic isn't forced closely together at the same point along the road like that! Same result but less dangerous - correct?


I'm not sure providing a slalom course is a good idea.

As for putting the humps closer to the kerb? Bad idea IMO.

Look, I'm no fan of speed humps, replace them all with average speed cameras I say, but there clearly needs to be something to slow certain idiots down.


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 24, 2009 19:58 
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weepej wrote:
I'm not sure providing a slalom course is a good idea.

I didn't expect you see you say that. I thought you liked the idea of putting in needless blind corners, as well as laying blocks within blind corners?

weepej wrote:
Look, I'm no fan of speed humps, replace them all with average speed cameras I say, but there clearly needs to be something to slow certain idiots down.

You mean, something this campaign (and the forum regulars) have always been calling for? Have you been following these debates at all weepej?

Will those average speed cameras really slow down "the idiots"? (the real idiots being those who actually want to drive above the limit and terrorise neighbourhoods; it doesn’t take a criminal genius to figure out how to circumvent those cameras)

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PostPosted: Fri Dec 25, 2009 09:07 
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Steve wrote:
it doesn’t take a criminal genius to figure out how to circumvent those cameras)


Of course it does.
First you have to buy false number plates.
Unfortunately, having incorrect registration number plates on your vehicle would be illegal.
Then you would have to figure out how to buy the plates. Most criminal genii probably do not have passports, and you do not have to be a genius to consider that handing your photo licence to a purveyor of number plates is not a smart move.
And of course, you cannot have "display" plates on your vehicle because it would be illegal (and an mot failure).
So it all falls down.
Oh wait........................s**t........................I forgot...................................crooks don't bother with laws. Crap.
Oh...and you can now buy "false" plates with "false" makers id embossed on them....the march of progress. Or maybe people are fed-up with paying over 20 quid for plates, along with the needing more id than an entry into China.

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PostPosted: Fri Dec 25, 2009 10:18 
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weepej wrote:
Big Tone wrote:
:idea: Alternatively, they could have left the bumps as far from the curb as they are but stagger them so the traffic isn't forced closely together at the same point along the road like that! Same result but less dangerous - correct?


I'm not sure providing a slalom course is a good idea.
As someone who enjoys the odd bit of OTT exaggeration that was a good one. :thumbsup: Trouble is I think you're serious. Image

weepej wrote:
As for putting the humps closer to the kerb? Bad idea IMO.
Why not? You believe it's speed which kills after all. Does the proximity or circumstances also matter now? Careful, you're getting dangerously close to agreeing with me at last. Image

weepej wrote:
Look, I'm no fan of speed humps, replace them all with average speed cameras I say, but there clearly needs to be something to slow certain idiots down.
As Steve pointed out above, completely flawed. I'll wheelie through a busy short stretch of :30: at 40 mph and stop for a few seconds shall I? Image

I agree that something needs to be done to slow idiots down; we would all agree to that I think and hope. But slowing idiots down isn't everything or indeed anything if they do something stupid at 20 mph and kill someone.

Well thanks for replying weepej and Happy Christmas everyone :) I've got a 3.5 Kilogram bird to cook and veg to peel etc. Hope I get it right; I cook like a gatso saves lives Image

Tony Image

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PostPosted: Fri Dec 25, 2009 11:38 
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Big Tone wrote:
In another district I pass through they have placed speed bumps, the island type, which makes drivers travel with their wheels either side to minimise the bump and save their suspension. The trouble is it brings vehicles passing in opposite directions dangerously close to each other. Now I know what someone is going to say so I’ll beat ‘whoever’ to it.


I think that those speed humps are positioned so that you can minimise the bump whilst overtaking a cyclist without endangering her.

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PostPosted: Fri Dec 25, 2009 12:47 
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dcbwhaley wrote:
Big Tone wrote:
In another district I pass through they have placed speed bumps, the island type, which makes drivers travel with their wheels either side to minimise the bump and save their suspension. The trouble is it brings vehicles passing in opposite directions dangerously close to each other. Now I know what someone is going to say so I’ll beat ‘whoever’ to it.


I think that those speed humps are positioned so that you can minimise the bump whilst overtaking a cyclist without endangering her.
I like that dcb and thank you! Seriously! What you say makes perfect sense so count me in :thumbsup: When I hear a good point, well put, I always like to give recognition regardless of who said it.

Staggering the bumps still makes sense to me though, or as weepej puts it, turning the road into a slalom :roll: which does not make sense.

Chicken's looking good :) Now for the stuffing...

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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.


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 25, 2009 16:12 
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Big Tone wrote:
dcbwhaley wrote:
When I hear a good point, well put, I always like to give recognition regardless of who said it.


That is a double edged compliment if I ever heard one :D :D

[quute]Staggering the bumps still makes sense to me though, or as weepej puts it, turning the road into a slalom :roll: which does not make sense.


If you stagger the humps you will get some eejit driving on the wrong side of the road to avoid them. Or, to put it another way, slaloming round them :D :D

Quote:
Chicken's looking good :) Now for the stuffing...


Merry Winterfest one and all

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PostPosted: Fri Dec 25, 2009 16:30 
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dcbwhaley wrote:
If you stagger the humps you will get some eejit driving on the wrong side of the road to avoid them.


Not that there is anything wrong with using either side of the road if the other side is clear and a safe return to the left can be made before it ceases to be so. One might point out that this is certainly safer than forcing traffic into a reduced lateral separation situation, which is what this type of hump does.

I think I have bemoaned these devices here before as being wholly unfit for purpose, and causing more harm than good. The only vehicles they compel to slow are those that are too narrow (my mother's Smart car) or too low (my classic Triumph Spitfire) to straddle them. The forced reduced lateral separation is even more of a problem for motorcycles, who get pushed out of the optimal road position and into the middle of the road. Even if I were to go straight over the top I am fairly certain that my belly pan (on my unmodified bike) would ground out on many of the behemoths I have seen, not to mention the impact it would have on stability and comfort. Furthermore, the funnelling effect on a continual procession of tyres seems to cause the road surface at the periphery of these humps to degrade far quicker than normal, meaning the edges are often holed and/or broken, a further hazard for two-wheeled road users.

Finally, what is the point in having a device placed in the road that cannot be safely and comfortably negotiated, by the majority of 'normal' vehicles, at the speed limit?

Merry Christmas all!

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PostPosted: Fri Dec 25, 2009 18:25 
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dcbwhaley wrote:
Big Tone wrote:
dcbwhaley wrote:
When I hear a good point, well put, I always like to give recognition regardless of who said it.


That is a double edged compliment if I ever heard one :D :D
Er, what I meant was er.. :oops: You made a fair point and it didn't matter who said I er..

I'll stop digging.. :D

Well, not much chicken left, just four stuffed people. I've got speed bumps on me belly now :D Don't think I poisoned anyone and I’ll be washing pots & plates & cutlery ‘tll midnight. Oh the joy of it all, and I've only had a glass of mulled wine so far... :x

RobinXe wrote:
Finally, what is the point in having a device placed in the road that cannot be safely and comfortably negotiated, by the majority of 'normal' vehicles, at the speed limit?

Merry Christmas all!

Good notes to end on :D

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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.


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