Safe Speed Forums

Because you are saying that it is fine to speed, and that it is the law-abiding drivers who are the problem. The government will not agree with you, and will see mandatory speed limiters as the way to force people with the attitude you describe to slow down.

If it is clearly safe to drive faster, the speed limit should be increased, it is completely unreasonable to expect other road users to break the law. Indeed, I believe that in this scenario, mandatory speed limiters would actually be helpful in getting the speed limit increased, as low limits would be less well tolerated if everyone were forced to stick to them.

I'm far from convinced by this, as one of the major signals that a speed limit is too low is that it is widely ignored. If everyone was forced to stick to the limit, then a major deterrent to imposing unnecessarily low limits would be removed. Apart from possibly on motorways, it is hard to see what you describe happening anywhere else.

Indeed I can easily imagine if we had mandatory speed limiters then measures like a general 30 mph limit on unclassified rural roads would be introduced. Also you might see huge swathes of urban areas including main roads becoming 20 mph zones.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

Especially when it becomes clear that casualties aren't coming down as expected. the limits will then be made lower still, and lower still.

I can't see it happening though - they'd lose too much revenue from fines and fuel.

Cheers
Peter

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Only when ideology, prejudice and dogma are set aside does the truth emerge - Kepler

I don't object to speed limit adherents (their choice), unless they object to me going faster (my choice)

Live and let live.

It is not that they stick to speed limits, no, It is that they usually drive in a way that I find harder to read.
Usually on a road where there is no where to overtake, and it feels like they are mind-reading my jeorney.
There I am thinking I will turn right half a mile on and we can have some space and thier flasher goes on. they slow down a bit early, wait for an EEEEeeenormous space to cross the traffic and take an exagerated route round the white lines then let out a damn great double decker bus (with two passengers) that stops in the middle of a trafic island or where double white lines exist.

When you finaly get a chance to overtake you are half way commited and notice a white van parked 1000 m away and abandon your manuver in case it is a scamera van....


Have you ever noticed the confusion caused by a cop car driving at 65 along the motorway. queues, bunching behind ... empty road for miles in front....

Cruise control is good

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Andrew.

I think you're blaming the wrong group for a fairly serious and widespread problem. I blame the authorities for their flawed policy that causes these behaviours.

It isn't right to blame drivers who are responding to official and legal messages.

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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

The trouble with that is that it is not necessarily going to be safe for all drivers to go faster. Some of them might need that lower limit. That said, I do agree that limits on many roads could do with being reconsidered.

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Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler - Einstein

You usually fnd the vans on these safer stretches where the limit seems unusually low and everything about the road suggests it once had a 40 mph limit.

But I do not find these drivers selfish for obeying a rule for whatever reason whether on 3 points or 9 points. After all - if they been pinged once they don't want any more as this loads on insurance. They may well simply be driving at the 30 mph because they believe in complying with the law anyway without question - and if all traffic keep the two second rule (COAST rules) then should not really result in bunching to be honest. Part of the driving condition so not much point getting stressed over it. If they are driving at 20-25 mph then this behaviour could be classed as inconsiderate driving which may attract a pull - think IG posted this once.

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KEEP SMILING
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Smily to penny.. penny to pound
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The situation is much worse on the motorways where somebody sticks to less than the 70 limit while overtaking in the outside lane. That can cause huge and dangerous bunching and tailgating while everybody waits for the manouvre to finish.

Or what about the people who trundle down the middle lane at an indicated 69 when the inside lane is empty. My GPS tells me my speedo is about 5mph fast (at that speed) so do they have the right to hold everybody else up when the may be driving too slowly?

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Shooting is good for you and too good for some people.

that's a completely different situation - obviously those people have the ability to get out of the way by moving into the left lane but instead are deliberately choosing to obstruct faster traffic.

I'm not saying they should be. I'm saying they should risk the chance of prosecution for the greater good.

yeah, and we should get anything that can't travel at 30mph off MY roads. I'm sure they're holding me up for at least 2 seconds a day!!! B*stards!

And many locations I've seen have had more than a 10mph drop in limit in the last 5-10 years, backed up with cameras.
to

It's not them that you need to blame though. A lot of 30mph are about right, and my speed will there or there abouts. There it just so happens that you are driving to the conditions AND observing the limit. However, the problems you mention are caused when a road has a much lower limit then what a competant motorist would consider safe. But don't blame those that do stick to that limit as those are just the sort of roads the scammers frequent. What if the drivers out of the area? You may know that it has no cameras or vans, but does he or she? An out of town driver is also likely to be a high milage driver, if they did as you suggest and risked a fine and points they could easily be banned within the year.

I'm with you in priciple, fergl. The ones that get me going are the prats that go everywhere at the same speed -34mph. Slavish obedience of the speed limit regardless of the road conditions is a sign of poor driving, impatience (or more correctly frustration) is a personal trait and not necessarily an idiot marker.
I would estimate that a third of drivers on the road today have insufficient understanding of the vehicles they drive to be considered safe. They are either filled with fear and loathing of the driving experience, or are too thick to understand the implications of any mistake they make.
Might I suggest that you consider taking the line that my driving instructor gave me so many years ago - that every other driver is a complete w*nker and the more leeway you allow them, the less chance they have of spoiling your day.
We are living in a society that no longer recognises excellence, instead measuring everything up to the lowest common denominator.
I would love their to be a National 'Mad Sunday' with no speed limits on any road for about six hours, once a month. The initial carnage would be Biblical, but think of the number of arseholes removed from the system! It's a sicko concept, but it does have a certain appeal....

To paraphrase the remark which started all this:

I suggest that people who SET the limit on a 30mph road where it is clearly safe to drive faster are just being selfish.

Works for me. I take the attitude on the bike that everyone is out to kill me and it works.

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

My father used to recite that mantra every time I went out when I first started driving on public roads, although his version was "Treat every other road user as if they are out to get you".

Either way it worked for me, and I'm still here today.

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

I have to agree with the last 3 posts.

I suggest that fergl100's original post is no so much that the drivers are keeping to the limit, as that they tend to do 40-50mph everywhere. this will typically mean 40 thro' corners that can be safely taken at 55mph or more, but then speeding up enough on the straights to make any overtaking attempt unsafe, if even possible. they crawl thro' villages at 22mph. when turning right off a main road, they will slow to about 5mph on the middle of the road and THEN turn on the indicator, just before turning.