Safe Speed Forums

Hi there, I'm 17 years old and based in North Wales.

North Wales...exactly. I currently (touch wood) have no points on my licence, but I daily come accross Talivans parked round corners/idden in dustbins etc. Therefore, I am constantly look at my speedo, more than my mirrors.

I have a habit of driving exactly to the speed limit. I often feel imtimidated at times, because I am quite obviously going to slow for the road conditions. However, I AM sticking to the speed limit.

It was only until the other day when I took my dad in the car with me when he said that I was going far too fast on the corners and on certain roads.

My Response..... "But I'm not speeding"
Now I know that speed doesnt kill, unsafe driving does. However I belive I have been brainwashed into driving at the speed limit and constantly looking at my speedometer.

What do I do?

Do I drive safely, looking for hazards, children etc? - Therefore risking a fine and points on my licence... which at my age, would cost me hundreds in increased insurance premiums.

Or do I do as I'm doing now and constantly look at my speedoeter, oblivous to the road conditions and hazard perception?

Not that I intend to do thses faults, but I am a human being, I can only put a major concentration at one thing at a time. At the moment, it's my speedometer, ensuring I never go to the "dangerous" speed of 35 in a 30.

Quite clearly this fear of speed traps are making my driving unsafe, and im constantly trying to control my speed at the expensive of that extra 20-30% on hazard perception/ assesing the correct TRUE speed for road conditons.

Obviously the government / Richard Brunstrom dont care about my safety and others, as long as they are able to fine me. So I hope sensible people can advice me on this forum.


Oh, and a big shout out to Paul Smith - Legend! If I was PM, I'd appoint you head of motoring!

Regrettably one of the consequences of the indiscriminate use of speed cameras is to make drivers stick to the speed limit, which they then tend to do even where it may be inappropriate, but the speed cameras don’t know that and there are no police patrols to worry about.

If you are prevented from driving at a perfectly safe speed for the conditions, if over the prescribed limit, then the temptation is to make up for this in other ways, such as harsher braking, acceleration and cornering, for which there are no prescribed limits and as yet no cameras which can measure these things.

Hence it is little wonder that speed cameras are not bringing about any reduction in road accidents, casualties and fatalities.

The problem is that if you can never go faster than 70mph, whatever the circumstances, then this prevent drivers gaining experience about the handling of their vehicle, unless you are PC Milton, then you can do 150mph.
.

From when I joined

http://www.safespeed.org.uk/forum/viewt ... highlight=

it may help

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Oct 11 Birmingham Half Marathon. I am running for the British Heart Foundation.
http://www.justgiving.com/Rob-Taylor

i think you really know the answer to that one!

as you gain experience you should find that knowing, and holding a speed shouldn't have to involvestaring at the speedo constantly.

in a fixed gear the engine note is directly related to road speed so a quick glance at the speedo, adjustment of speed check again then holding the revs roughly constant should keep your speed about right.

i do find it pefectly possible to drive at a speed suitable to the conditions & hazards, with that speed being capped by the signed limit for that road (or some interpretation thereof )

Start saving and get RoadAngelPlus™ from http://www.blackspot.com/products/roada ... index.html - best £300 I ever spent, now down to £250.

Read my thread about it - http://www.safespeed.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15369

DieselMoment - No accidents in over 30 years, and no penalty points - ever.

Take some advanced driving tuition which will enable you to 'multi-task' with your driving and be more conscious of what is happening by improvements to your 'spacial awareness' whilst still complying with the law. Don't worry, you'll find that these skills can be developed relatively easily so long as you have the aptitude. In flying, where speed near to the ground is so critical, pilots still manage to line up with the runway, control rate of descent, allow for crosswinds, speak to ATC, operate flaps, operate throttle, control attitude (in 3 planes), watch for hazards and keep the airspeed at the correct figure during approach. This is achieved through training. Driving is nowhere near as difficult really, it's just training and practice you need.

cooperman - I've never seen a kid run out into the path of a plane landing at an airport or be cut up by the pilot behind him.

most modern jets and even light aircraft have flight path guides and warnings - so the pilot is actually able to cut the amount he has to concentrate on - ultimately the bulk of flights are commercial flights that have auto pilot and landing systems - something we're a long way from on the road. So the comparison and comments on multi tasking are a bit wide of the mark.

the difference with a pilot is that there is that if he didnt make the grade he wouldnt be flying - plus they are constantly evaluated/retested and have to get re-tested on new aircraft.

Unlike on the roads when you have such a wide range of qualities and a fairly low level "pass" to get on the roads. So again comparison is apples and potatoes. In the air we can guarantee a high minimum level of pilot skill and experience - not so on the roads...

You've stated driving is nowhere near as difficult as flying - with all the aid devices I'd have to say this is wrong. If you compare a drive through Paris or London at rush hour - then you'll have to make far more judgements and deal with far more than a pilot flying aberdeen to london over a similar 2hr period.

Ultimately the govt dont want us to multitask in the car - as they would rather you didnt use a mobile - all be it the non handsfree type - but whats the diff

the iam isnt going to give you the skills - just point out what you can do.

Yeah, I'd like to be able to control the driver attitudes of multiple vehicles too!

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Pecunia Prius Equitas et Salus

What's the problem with the IAM?

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Pecunia Prius Equitas et Salus

i hesitate to say it, but i disagree here.
something for a dfferent thread perhaps.

but i wouldn't like to encourage anyone to rely on these gadgets.
i find them distracting and annoying in the extreme (and thats when i'm not trying to drive).

What further idiocy is this?!



Have you ever heard of a birdstrike? No, I'm not referring the the Falcons' Union!



What on earth are you wittering on about? Light aircraft 'flight path guides'?! There's no control in the open FIR, and VFR is see and avoid! The bulk of flights are not commercial flights.



It seems you have garnered all your vast knowledge of aviation from MS Flight Sim, and are thus somewhat deficient in your understanding, again!

So take driving, two dimensions of freedom and any threat coming at you will be in visual distance and on the same plane as you. Take flying, three dimensions, a mental picture of the situation must be built up comprehensively around the aircraft, largely from positions of other aircraft passed via the radio, since you haven't got full spherical lookout, and threats can appear too late to be mitigated. You're also trying to follow a route on a chart, avoid the ground, tune radios and talk to the relevant agencies, all whilst flying the aircraft accurately.

To the original poster, do investigate advanced instruction, and if you feel like it, also learn to fly, you'll find your capacity stretched and expanded no end, to the point where you can quite happily cope with rush hour in a european capital city, or even manage to choose the correct lane to drive in, which others here seem incapable of!

Also, a driver can simply do an emergency stop......

So can I

I don't know, I got a road angel when I first started driving. Now I barely use it. I found it helped me focus on other things rather than the cams.
Having your speed in the windscreen, helps too.

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Oct 11 Birmingham Half Marathon. I am running for the British Heart Foundation.
http://www.justgiving.com/Rob-Taylor

1) SPEED KILLS, you have no epierience but make silly statements about speed limits.

Grow up You really thought that you needed to travell at the posted speed !!!!!

You will NOT have an acident by loking at the speedo occasionally and more than looking in the mirrors, (*thats the rear view mirrors not the ones that are there to check wether you ae hansome, belive me you are, you dont get ugly til the age of 40)

REMEMBER: A car is as leathal as a loaded gun, at 17 all the fun in a car ought to be when it is PARKED IN A COUNTRY LANE!

You keep repeating that, yet not once have you justified it. Care to do it now?


Do you remember that old advert for seatbelts where the driver was looking in the rear view mirror at a following van, only to crash into another car; would you say that was an unrealistic situation?

Furthermore, there is a difference between looking at the mirrors and looking at the speedo. With mirrors you don’t have to cross your eyes and refocus; you do with the speedo!

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Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

Nice, someone come for advice, and intelligent discussion and they get you acting like a child. I think it is you who needs to grow up.
He/she is 17 don’t talk to him/herif as if he/she is five. He/she may not have much experience, however he/she does have some, and he/she is just as much right to discuss their experience as you! At least the post has
clearly had some thought put into it. Instead of one which a appears to be the gibbering of a lunatic.
Also the OP show that they are THINKING about what they are doing.

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Oct 11 Birmingham Half Marathon. I am running for the British Heart Foundation.
http://www.justgiving.com/Rob-Taylor

It's certainly not a carte blanche to speed with impunity, but it's a most useful passenger to have along for the ride.

That was 'Julie':

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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