albion1971:
Have you seen the number of people killed on their motorways?There death rate is higher than ours because the speeds are higher and the accidents are more severe.
The last time I checked, the German roads were amongst the most safe in Europe, with Britain well behind.
Off course number of deaths will be higher, but you have to note, that this is a transit country, therefore traffic is much more dense and also that motorway network is much more extensive that British one…
If we checked only by direct number of deaths, the most safe motorways will propably be in Iceland
So in that case Britain is better than Germany. But other countries with similar motorway significance in transport network (Belgium, France) have even higher rates, despite lower speed limits…
albion1971:
There are speed limits on German motorways in fact there are not so many unrestricted ones now and they are closely monitored.If you drive at a stupid speed for the conditions or travel too close to the vehicle in front you will be nicked.
Have you seen the number of people killed on their motorways?There death rate is higher than ours because the speeds are higher and the accidents are more severe.
I agree some speed limits some places in this country are ridiculous but on the other hand a lot of drivers disregard limits a lot of the time and driving standards are so poor maybe it is a necessary requirement to try to slow people down. Can anybody tell me why some drivers seem to think they have a right to totally ignore speed limits late at night or very early in the morning? If some drivers were not so irresponsible the better ones might have an easier life!
So driving at 71mph is “irresponsible” in your opinion then? Same then for 80, 90, 100, right? What gives YOU the right to judge whether other drivers’ actions are irresponsible? Simply because the speed limit is set at 70mph? Is that it? So, anyone doing above the speed limit is therefore “irresponsible”? You couldn’t make it up…
I guess I’m one of those alleged irresponsible drivers you speak of then, as I sit at 90 on a free running motorway in good conditions. I do this speed for 2 reasons :
I like to get where I’m going in a timely manner.
Doing 70-80 just puts you in the middle of all the crap drivers that don’t know how to maintain a set speed so you spend all your time jostling for “position” and/or you’re constantly having to adjust your speed, which gets INCREDIBLY tedious after a while.
At 90 you don’t have this problem as it’s pretty rare for something to be going faster than me. Not being caught up in the middle of all that 80mph jostling BS gives me the freedom to scan the road ahead for cops on bridges/mounds and to scan the road behind for anything catching me up, at which point I would ease off to 80 in case it’s a cop car.
The car is easily capable of the speed, I am more than capable of handling the car at speed and I am also a very observant/hazard aware driver, so what exactly is the problem? Give me reps in BMWs doing 90-100 any day over unpredictable grannies in Micra’s or kids in souped up Corsa’s that have only just passed their test.
I hear what you’re saying Rob, I speed some times if the conditions allow. Don’t do 90 very often but do 80 quite a bit. The problem is when you come to overtake other vehicles. Like you said, those grannies in Micra’s are unpredictable and could pull out at any time and banging one from behind at 90 when they’re doing 50 isn’t going to be pretty. It’s these sort of situations that keep the speed limits low as it ends in carnage when it goes wrong. The higher the limit the worse the crashes will be.
Terry T:
I hear what you’re saying Rob, I speed some times if the conditions allow. Don’t do 90 very often but do 80 quite a bit. The problem is when you come to overtake other vehicles. Like you said, those grannies in Micra’s are unpredictable and could pull out at any time and banging one from behind at 90 when they’re doing 50 isn’t going to be pretty. It’s these sort of situations that keep the speed limits low as it ends in carnage when it goes wrong. The higher the limit the worse the crashes will be.
Indeed, but when you drive on the roads for a living you can spot someone about to do something stupid 10 seconds before it even happens. It’s the foresight/hazard awareness/observation ‘instinct’ that comes naturally from spending so much time on the roads. If I and the vehicle didn’t feel safe at 90 then I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t do 100+ for any length of time simply because the speed differential vs. other vehicles becomes too great and requires masses amount of concentration to stay ‘safe’. Also, slight curves in the motorway start to become hair-pin corners at those sort of speeds as well . Then of course there is the instant ban territory you’re in if caught by plod.
I do agree that probably the majority of drivers these days shouldn’t be allowed control of a push bike, let alone a motorised vehicle capable of a ton+ and so in reply to the original post by Horace I say the speed limits (specifically motorways) should not be increased.
albion1971:
There are speed limits on German motorways in fact there are not so many unrestricted ones now and they are closely monitored.If you drive at a stupid speed for the conditions or travel too close to the vehicle in front you will be nicked.
Have you seen the number of people killed on their motorways?There death rate is higher than ours because the speeds are higher and the accidents are more severe.
I agree some speed limits some places in this country are ridiculous but on the other hand a lot of drivers disregard limits a lot of the time and driving standards are so poor maybe it is a necessary requirement to try to slow people down. Can anybody tell me why some drivers seem to think they have a right to totally ignore speed limits late at night or very early in the morning? If some drivers were not so irresponsible the better ones might have an easier life!
So driving at 71mph is “irresponsible” in your opinion then? Same then for 80, 90, 100, right? What gives YOU the right to judge whether other drivers’ actions are irresponsible? Simply because the speed limit is set at 70mph? Is that it? So, anyone doing above the speed limit is therefore “irresponsible”? You couldn’t make it up…
I guess I’m one of those alleged irresponsible drivers you speak of then, as I sit at 90 on a free running motorway in good conditions. I do this speed for 2 reasons :
I like to get where I’m going in a timely manner.
Doing 70-80 just puts you in the middle of all the crap drivers that don’t know how to maintain a set speed so you spend all your time jostling for “position” and/or you’re constantly having to adjust your speed, which gets INCREDIBLY tedious after a while.
At 90 you don’t have this problem as it’s pretty rare for something to be going faster than me. Not being caught up in the middle of all that 80mph jostling BS gives me the freedom to scan the road ahead for cops on bridges/mounds and to scan the road behind for anything catching me up, at which point I would ease off to 80 in case it’s a cop car.
The car is easily capable of the speed, I am more than capable of handling the car at speed and I am also a very observant/hazard aware driver, so what exactly is the problem? Give me reps in BMWs doing 90-100 any day over unpredictable grannies in Micra’s or kids in souped up Corsa’s that have only just passed their test.
you get a bmw driver doing 90 to 100 mph, and my guess is he has no clue whats going on cos he will have a mobile phone stuck to his ear.i see it time and time again either when i’m in the truck or on my bike
grahamzx6r:
you get a bmw driver doing 90 to 100 mph, and my guess is he has no clue whats going on cos he will have a mobile phone stuck to his ear.i see it time and time again either when i’m in the truck or on my bike
Possibly, but that is not isolated to BMW drivers. In my experience it is HGV drivers that drive along with a handheld phone glued to their collective ears, closely followed by van drivers then young girls in Pug 206s etc.
yeah ya rite rob, its all vehicles and all types of drivers, i saw a tipper driver, the other day going round a roundabout, with the phone to his ear, trying to steer and change gear
grahamzx6r:
yeah ya rite rob, its all vehicles and all types of drivers, i saw a tipper driver, the other day going round a roundabout, with the phone to his ear, trying to steer and change gear
Guilty! Tricky to do, got to be said, but the technique is either to get the right gear before your turn, or leave the gear til you’ve come out of the turn and straightened up, then you can let go of the wheel and change gear . Alternatively, if you want to be uber cool, you can turn the wheel to however much you need to make the turn, then hold the steering wheel in place with your elbow of the arm that’s holding the phone, then change gear with the other hand .
I await the lynch mob. Give me all you’ve got. No doubt some comment about “professional driver” will be forthcoming.
yeah we’ve all done it in the past, but this tipper driver missed his que on all points, why cos he was in a hurry, ( like they all are) and he must of had his foot to the floor, didn’t have enough arms or legs, (or brain cells)
grahamzx6r:
yeah ya rite rob, its all vehicles and all types of drivers, i saw a tipper driver, the other day going round a roundabout, with the phone to his ear, trying to steer and change gear
Guilty! Tricky to do, got to be said, but the technique is either to get the right gear before your turn, or leave the gear til you’ve come out of the turn and straightened up, then you can let go of the wheel and change gear . Alternatively, if you want to be uber cool, you can turn the wheel to however much you need to make the turn, then hold the steering wheel in place with your elbow of the arm that’s holding the phone, then change gear with the other hand .
I await the lynch mob. Give me all you’ve got. No doubt some comment about “professional driver” will be forthcoming.
Thats a tricky technique to carry out without spilling your tea.
Rob K why you gettin your nickers in such a twist?Tell me where I said anything about breaking the speed limit by 1mph is irresponsible?
Yes and most drivers think they are capable of driving at speed but unfortunately a lot of them are no longer with us.
albion1971: Rob K why you gettin your nickers in such a twist?Tell me where I said anything about breaking the speed limit by 1mph is irresponsible?
Yes and most drivers think they are capable of driving at speed but unfortunately a lot of them are no longer with us.
albion1971:
Can anybody tell me why some drivers seem to think they have a right to totally ignore speed limits late at night or very early in the morning?
If some drivers were not so irresponsible the better ones might have an easier life!
= anyone that exceeds the speed limit is irresponsible. The time of day is irrelevant to the quote.
You could crack on a bit late at night or in the early morning because there is a lot less traffic on the road and if there happens to be on-coming traffic you see the loom of their headlights from a long way off.We know that its breaking the law ,but my halo was confiscated a long time ago.
grahamzx6r:
yeah ya rite rob, its all vehicles and all types of drivers, i saw a tipper driver, the other day going round a roundabout, with the phone to his ear, trying to steer and change gear
Guilty! Tricky to do, got to be said, but the technique is either to get the right gear before your turn, or leave the gear til you’ve come out of the turn and straightened up, then you can let go of the wheel and change gear . Alternatively, if you want to be uber cool, you can turn the wheel to however much you need to make the turn, then hold the steering wheel in place with your elbow of the arm that’s holding the phone, then change gear with the other hand .
I await the lynch mob. Give me all you’ve got. No doubt some comment about “professional driver” will be forthcoming.
I’ve seen worse. When I was a drivers mate at Rhys Davies this one driver would wait till he got on the motorway then get his notes out, put them in order then pour himself some milk and cornflakes.
And I’ve been out with a white van man that would read magazines in the outside lane of the motorway going full tilt.
grahamzx6r:
yeah ya rite rob, its all vehicles and all types of drivers, i saw a tipper driver, the other day going round a roundabout, with the phone to his ear, trying to steer and change gear
Guilty! Tricky to do, got to be said, but the technique is either to get the right gear before your turn, or leave the gear til you’ve come out of the turn and straightened up, then you can let go of the wheel and change gear . Alternatively, if you want to be uber cool, you can turn the wheel to however much you need to make the turn, then hold the steering wheel in place with your elbow of the arm that’s holding the phone, then change gear with the other hand .
I await the lynch mob. Give me all you’ve got. No doubt some comment about “professional driver” will be forthcoming.
I’ve seen worse. When I was a drivers mate at Rhys Davies this one driver would wait till he got on the motorway then get his notes out, put them in order then pour himself some milk and cornflakes.
And I’ve been out with a white van man that would read magazines in the outside lane of the motorway going full tilt.
That’s nuts! I draw the line at making a brew on the move.
. Then of course there is the instant ban territory you’re in if caught by plod.
Tricky to do, got to be said, but the technique is either to get the right gear before your turn, or leave the gear til you’ve come out of the turn and straightened up, then you can let go of the wheel and change gear 
.
we’ve all done it in the past, but this tipper driver missed his que on all points, why cos he was in a hurry, ( like they all are) and he must of had his foot to the floor, didn’t have enough arms or legs, (or brain cells)