Safe Speed Forums

Apart from the lunatic, dangerous, drunk fringe we do otherwise people would be killed in their hundreds of thousands.

Currently pedestrians do not take care on the road. They used to when we had the Green Cross Code commercials but since then, no. Without education, something else that seems to have been manipulated to look as though it has improved when it hasn't, pedestrians currently have nothing but the "Speed Kills/Motorist Bad" claptrap.

My kids have learned to cross the road because I instilled the Green Cross Code ethos into them. Hopefully, they will also be competent drivers as I am already giving them COAST principles and pointing out poor driving in comments I make while driving.

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Prepare to be Judged

Absolutely. So we need good policies based on sound evidence and analysis. Exactly the opposite of what we have.



Why should people live in fear of cars when the road are safe? It isn't even logical. Much of the fear comes from bad policy.

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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

Oh God help us...

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Pecunia Prius Equitas et Salus

"feel" you say. "speed cameras". And what about when you get caught in your own snare or your friend or your family and the resulting stress and hardship?

You're right, it's pointless going there again. As a friend of mine, who works as a psychiatric nurse, would say to a patient, 'this argument is nonsense, I'm terminating the interview'.


PS. Are you sure you don't see a big nose and lots of hair when you look in the mirror?

(Just avin a laff, saves me cryin instead)...

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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'll put it another way.
"What would make me feel safer would be if motorists kept within the speed limit (30mph) instead of overtaking me at much higher speeds than this; and a speed camera might have this effect."

Signing off.

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Occasionally slightly trollish.

I refer you to my post above on Page 3 of this thread.

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

By the way, I agree with you on not having cycle lanes in lovely ole' villages but then, ideally, I don't want the volume and physical size of traffic either.

However, we're stuck with it so what else can be done to help cyclists? At least they're not runing the village like other traffic. All I can think of is to pedestrianise the village, not that I like that either but it's probably the best option under the circumstances.

Incidentally, I would still rather have a good driver overtake me at 35mph than a bad one overtake me at 25mph. The driver who last year whacked my arm with his wing mirror and nearly fetched me off my bike, at taxi driver no less, wasn't speeding. That wasn't the first time it's happened to me either so please forgive me if I seem pasionate on this subject.

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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.

Speed limits are academic. 20mph is safe, but 21mph isn't, is what 20mph limits suggest, which of course isn't true. There are lots of factors that come into play.

Some local authorities install traffic calming or reduce the speed limit because of boy racers, who break the speed limit anyway. The result, boy racers notice continue driving much the same as before, but the average driver is kicked in the teeth.

Thinking that speed cameras are the answer is a bit like alcoholism. Only when you can admit to yourself that you have a problem will you ever stand a chance of recovery

Maybe someone should start a Speed Cameras Anonymous?

I'm going for a pint now...

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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.

What would make me feel safer, is being competent, educated, looking both ways before I cross, being intelligent, using a zebra crossing, pelican crossing, etc etc.

Oh wait. I already do!

I believe in taking responsibility for MY actions.

I see the lunatic fringe keeps growing. Is this the curse of Maggie, or the curse of Tony?

Blaming someone else, more signs, taking away responsibility. We've been stopped from making mistakes, mistakes have no consequences, therefore there's no responsibility, so you can't blame yourself, so it must be someone elses problem. Compensation culture. Can't wait to sue KFC for making me fat.

Cya
Simon

This was from a debate about what makes a cyclist feel safe. Looking both ways before I cross, being intelligent, using a zebra crossing, pelican crossing, etc etc. isn't the answer. Cycling correctly is part of the answer, but the behaviour of motorists is another part. If there's no room to pass, and the motorist behind me is doing 60 mph, then he's either going to have to brake sharply or risk it. At 30 mph (the legal limit for the road in question) they only need to slow down a bit in order to wait for an opportunity to pass further along the road when they will have room.
Obviously I feel safer when someone waits a few seconds than when they squeeze past at 60, but I think that it'd take a Gatso to make them slow down.

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Occasionally slightly trollish.

Where exactly would placing that Gatso make you feel safe? Would a camera van following 10 feet from your rear wheel make you feel safe?

I'vehad enough and won't even view this thread anymore.

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Prepare to be Judged

60mph in a 30mph limit?

There's nothing to stop them doing this, (except their own experience and judgement), so that's what they do.

A camera sited about half way down the hill would be ideal, not to be a money-box for the police, but as a deterent for this kind of driving.

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Occasionally slightly trollish.

On the particular stretch of road that I'm talking about.

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Occasionally slightly trollish.

But Liebchen - what would you do if cycling on 40 mph/50 mph/60 mph/70 mph road? Do you only ride on 20/30 mph urbans?

I not being rudey. I ride my bicycle around here on roads which are mostly NSL. If I ride on A66 here - I ride on a fast road for example. I get passed by vehicles at around the fast speed limit too. I have to say sometimes they do seem closer to me than I like sometimes und I have to say slip stream can cause me to have to really work with grip on bars to prevent wobble (:yikes: I note my knuckles do go a bit white on such occasion) .

By the way - Steve's there with his van. So long as they stay at 60 mph - he not at all mithered.

I think it depend on road you are travelling on. Not all are 20/30 mph. To stick to these road only will not get us from A to B that well on a bicycle.

So? I think we back to COAST as well as giving cyclists room when we see them. I usually slow up if I cannot overtake und I then overtake so as to give as much room as possible too to them.

By the way - I do not drive at all fast on an urban road of 30/40 mph anyway. I usually not even at the speed limit on such roads because the hazards I see tell me that the lolly speed would not be practicable with such hazards which need planning via COAST model to keep us all safe out there.

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Nicht ganz im Lot!
Ich setze mich immer wieder in die Nesseln! Der Mad Doc ist mein Mann! Und ich benutzte seinen PC!

UND OUR SMILEYS? Smile ... und the the world smiles with you.
Smiley guy seen when you read
Fine me for Safe Speed
(& other good causes..)

Greatest love & Greatest Achievements Require Greatest Risk
But if you lose the driving plan - don't lose the COAST lesson.
Me?
Je ne regrette rien!

They really doing that speed? No accident? Well yet anyway. I suppose.

Have you mentioned this sort of speeding on this urban road to the police? I think if they get a few complaints - they do an audit to check. Even that resence on one day may make a difference here.

Worth a try?


Contact Council? I am sure they could put a few "THINK! Kill Your Speed" posters on the lamp-posts. Maybe a VAS sign to remind them they are OTT und really OTT here.

Sometimes this nagging on each lamp post make the idiot "think!" a bit. All the scam will do will make them brake for the duration then accelerate away again. The posters would in "in yer face" at bit more?

Just some thoughts for you to request on this one. Best if you get some people to join your complaint on this road if they really are behaving like completest twazaks.

Dondare - I loathe speed cameras because I just do not think they enhance safety but seem to penalise safe drivers without removing the truly dangerous ones off the road. However, I do not condone twazak behaviour. I think those you describe are the twazaks who deserve the fines/points.

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Nicht ganz im Lot!
Ich setze mich immer wieder in die Nesseln! Der Mad Doc ist mein Mann! Und ich benutzte seinen PC!

UND OUR SMILEYS? Smile ... und the the world smiles with you.
Smiley guy seen when you read
Fine me for Safe Speed
(& other good causes..)

Greatest love & Greatest Achievements Require Greatest Risk
But if you lose the driving plan - don't lose the COAST lesson.
Me?
Je ne regrette rien!

I'm with you. You can't argue with ignorance or stupidity...

If I come across as arrogant or intolerant it's simply that I want the truth! If he was on trail for a crime he didn't commit he would want the truth to come out but but chooses to ignore it here. That's his prerogative and his right.

I don't want someone or some body to introduce, by fiat, a hypothetical idea, make it law and then tell me it's the truth when there isn't any evidence for it or when there is actually evidence to the contrary! Again, I want the truth! My father didn't defend this country only to let it fall in the hands of the foolish or corrupt.

Before I look at other threads though, ROSPA have done a U-turn on tree climbing apparently. This is the same body that has a Speed Camera Factsheet on their website, which of course is full of facts. Yeah right..


http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=sp ... ISO-8859-1

Shame on them! They should know better. I wonder how long it will be before they do a U-turn on that one? (rhetorical)

Now let's see what's being said elswhere...

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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.

Erm, have you seen the streets in Portsmouth where the 20mph limit is being applied? Even the most advanced driver would probably crash within seconds of doing 60mph down these roads, unless it's roads like Queen's Street.

Reducing the speed limit won't stop boy racers; it will only slow down the law abiding motorist. Nobody on this forum is saying that it isn't dangerous to do 60mph down a terraced street with parked cars on both side; they're saying that there are occasions when it is safe to go faster than 20mph.

I don't know Portsmouth at all.

My guess would be that the new limit is intended to reduce fear of traffic rather than frequency or severity of accidents. Less fear of traffic means more mothers being prepared to walk their kids to school instead of using the car for a journey that is probably less than a mile. Less fear of traffic might mean more people of all ages prepared to cycle. Both of these will lead to clearer streets, cleaner air and a rise in finess levels, which are all for the good.
If this seems to be a kind of social engineering then consider what has been happening for decades; roads designed specifically to meet the requirements of motorists have made the alternatives difficult, dangerous and unpleasant. It may not have been deliberate, but people have been forced into their cars. Now they're being winkled out.
Why not feel safe walking a mile? Why not feel safe cycling two?

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Occasionally slightly trollish.