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What are your perceptions / reactions to driving at 100mph?
Poll ended at Sun Nov 13, 2005 11:26
Shocking - ban worthy. Take away their licence. Dangerous! 2%  2%  [ 1 ]
Shocking - ban worthy. Take away their licence. Dangerous! 2%  2%  [ 1 ]
Depends on road conditions. Still very hazardous and tough luck if you're caught. No sympathy. 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Depends on road conditions. Still very hazardous and tough luck if you're caught. No sympathy. 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Only if car, driver & conditions are safely capable. But tough if you're caught. 9%  9%  [ 4 ]
Only if car, driver & conditions are safely capable. But tough if you're caught. 9%  9%  [ 4 ]
Can't really see the problem. It's just an arbitrary number. If the driver's willing, modern cars can cope. 15%  15%  [ 7 ]
Can't really see the problem. It's just an arbitrary number. If the driver's willing, modern cars can cope. 15%  15%  [ 7 ]
I have no problems with anyone frequenting the 'making good progress' section of the speedo! 2%  2%  [ 1 ]
I have no problems with anyone frequenting the 'making good progress' section of the speedo! 2%  2%  [ 1 ]
So long as it's safe to do so, it should be at our own discretion. 22%  22%  [ 10 ]
So long as it's safe to do so, it should be at our own discretion. 22%  22%  [ 10 ]
I use a morris minor, flat cap, driving gloves & can only dream of 100 KPH 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
I use a morris minor, flat cap, driving gloves & can only dream of 100 KPH 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Total votes : 46
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 11:26 
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Civil Engineer gave me this idea, not so much a survey - just an opinion poll to see where we all stand.

Feel free to add comments....I'm sure you will!

Kinda difficult to quantify though - as there is a 'them & us' situation.

We may feel confident in our own skills at higher speeds, but when are passed by someone doing 100mph+ when we are at 70,80 or 90 do we go "idiot"?


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PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 13:13 
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hobbes wrote:
but when are passed by someone doing 100mph+ when we are at 70,80 or 90 do we go "idiot"?

unfortunately what I normally say is "I'd be doing that too if I didn't like my licence".


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PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 13:29 
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This is one of those polls where it'd be useful to have two votes. I agree with both the 4th and 6th options. I think it's arbitrary, but like any other speed it is okay when safe and too fast when it's unsafe. However, right now I feel the arbitrary way 100mph is sometimes presented as being especially dangerous (e.g. reading "in excess of 100mph" in the media and the way the law deals more severely with >100mph offenders than 99mph or below) is perhaps more important, not least because it reinforces the idea that a numerical speed by itself can be dangerous and detracts from the key point of a safe speed for the circumstances.

I think 100mph gets the attention it does for psychological and historical reasons. We've had cars capable of double digit mph speeds available for many years - since not long after cars were invented in fact, so certainly for the entire life of almost everyone alive in the world today. In any event, horses have given people double digit mph speeds for millenia and even a lardarse like me can put on a pair of skis and get over 10mph with no assistance. Basically double digit MPH speeds are the norm for all of us and have been for many generations. OTOH no wheeled vehicle has ever reached a four digit mph speed, and it's probably not going to happen any time soon. So for some people the first speed that really has a bit of a "wow" factor ends up being 100mph simply because it has that 3rd digit and was unattainable by many cars until 15-20 or so years ago (my first two cars couldn't even downhill with a tail wind, but every one since then can break 100).

But it certainly is entirely arbitrary. What if we had a different counting system? What if we used base 8 or 12 for some reason? What we call 100mph would end up being a fairly unremarkable looking number, but it's still the same speed. (Just as well we don't use binary or we'd all get banned for doing 4mph :lol: ). Alternatively, what if there was no such thing as the mile but we still used furlongs? 100 furlongs per hour is a very sedate 12.5mph, but maybe society would be getting its collective knickers in a twist about 1000 furlongs per hour, which would give us an extra 25mph before ton-of-bricks time. What if we'd stuck with the Roman definition of the mile, which would chuck everything out by a few percent (dunno how much, but I know it's not the same as a mile today)? What if the statute mile didn't exist and all miles were nautical miles, chucking it out by a different amount again? What if we had 20 hours in a day instead of 24? We could go on indefintely, but the point is that there is nothing particularly special about 100 miles per hour in either the number 100 or in what we think of as a mile or an hour.

I also think that perhaps there's a human need to hang a label on something to say "oooo, that's too fast" and 100mph just so happens to fit nicely. We then end up with people thinking it's special because the law treats it differently and the law treating it differently because people think it's special. It's almost worth giving up and going metric just to force an official rethink - obviously 62 and a bit mph isn't particualrly worrying, so they couldn't treat 100 Kph differently, and 161 Kph isn't exactly right either. I think they'd have to pick 150 or 160 Kph as their magic speed, but I can imagine a lot of head scratching while they try to justify not using the same actual speed as before :twisted:

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PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 13:56 
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Thought provoking post Gatsobait. It made me think of countries who use kph instead of mph. Is 160kph(100mph) a big cut off for danger in these countries? Probably not, maybe 150kph? Again just a number with no logical basis.


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PostPosted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 09:08 
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I voted 3, but mostly agree with 6, it's an entirely arbitrary number, not per se any more or less dangerous than many other numbers, however given that we have a limit of 70mph in law I can't have too much sympathy for anyone caught at nearly one and a half times that speed, it could hardly be accidental, and we all know the risks (from the law, not crashing or bursting into flames).


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PostPosted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 10:57 
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fergl100 wrote:
Is 160kph(100mph) a big cut off for danger in these countries? Probably not, maybe 150kph? Again just a number with no logical basis.

in Australia 45 over the limit is automatic disqualification = 155km/h (97mph)
in France it's 50km/h = 180km/h (112mph)

The stupid thing is that by having a disqualification speed rather than percentage they're saying that 155 in a 110 zone is just as dangerous as 85 over in a 40 zone... nuts (and you just know where they're more likely to be waiting for you).


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 19:42 
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Life ban - the idiots know they are putting innocent people in danger


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 19:46 
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gatsos forever wrote:
Life ban - the idiots know they are putting innocent people in danger


:roll:

Best wishes all,
Dave.


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 19:49 
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gatsos forever wrote:
Life ban - the idiots know they are putting innocent people in danger

No they don't, epsecially if the carriageway ahead is clear - or did you wish to convey it as 100mph on a residential road? Let's not forget other Euopean countries whose limits on fast roads are set much higher than ours - are they 'putting innocent people in danger?'


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 20:22 
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I don't get worked up by a number on a sign or on the speedo. As long as I can always stop in the distance I can see to be clear (and reasonably expect to remain clear) then, as long as the road conditions permit then I'll drive at an appropriate, progressive speed.

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PostPosted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 14:45 
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I have no issue with 100mph, it's just a number, and it some circumstances is perfectly safe, but I don't think I would too much sympathy if caught. As said, it's hardly accidental and you can drive perfectly at ease without constant reference to the speedo and come nowhere near the ton.

Punishment of course should depend on conditions, attitude, and discretion. A bit of a lecture might be appropriate in good conditions and if a good attitude is shown. For what it's worth I would feel the same at 99mph.

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PostPosted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 16:58 
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hobbes wrote:
Civil Engineer gave me this idea, not so much a survey - just an opinion poll to see where we all stand.

Feel free to add comments....I'm sure you will!

Kinda difficult to quantify though - as there is a 'them & us' situation.

We may feel confident in our own skills at higher speeds, but when are passed by someone doing 100mph+ when we are at 70,80 or 90 do we go "idiot"?


Moi?


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 17:15 
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gatsos forever wrote:
Life ban - the idiots know they are putting innocent people in danger


The trouble with extremists is that they shout louder than everyone else.

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PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 12:56 
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It does tend to feel like a significant number - there's an 'ooh' factor when someone zooms past, and it sounds dangerous when you read newspaper reports.

I'm sure that's an unfair response - however, it probably does act as a sensible precautionary principle to hold one back from silly differential speeds with the rest of the traffic unless particularly determined...

Ian


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