Why do people think it acceptable to break the Speed Limit.
- Thread starter Gepetto
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Ahh yes, where it takes you longer to drive somewhere and are emitting emissions for longer…
Hi there
This is why I took the McLaren to the Isle of Man, on the first day it was lovey, dry and sunny but all roads were under normal operations, so two way traffic.
As I'd never driven the road before (mountain road) I hit a conservative 180mph on the NSL stretch, perfectly legal, I was playing it safe and picked my braking marker probably 500 yards or so short and was not aware of the epic straight as I came out the corner, so could have been on power earlier, but I was playing it safe and remaining well within mine and my cars limits.
Some of the more challenging NSL roads, tighter, bumpier were still a lot of fun well in excess of 100mph.
Anyway the following day the mountain course was set to one way traffic as Isle of Mann is motorist friendly so I thought on this day I shall try cracking 200mph or close to it, unfortunately the conditions changed to heavy rain and very low cloud. I was gutted but even in such conditions excess of 100mph was easy and safe to do, because I am experience with high-speed and have a car very capable of it with latest technology tyres. We were part of a tours holiday with around 60 cars, all drivers did speeds which in UK would have the tree huggers out with pitch forks demanding crush the cars and jail the owners, guess what could not be more welcome there and not a single accident or issue.
I shall be back again, simply as it is epic fun to drive at such speeds and is of course legal, proof speed is not the issue, lack of control / common sense is the issue. Anyway video from one of the smaller courses I did in poor weather, still great fun:
Personally for UK mainland, driving standards do seem to have got worse, so though I'd like higher speed limits, cannot see it happening. UK needs a stricter harder to pass test and written exam I feel to improve quality of driving and reduce accidents.
This is why I took the McLaren to the Isle of Man, on the first day it was lovey, dry and sunny but all roads were under normal operations, so two way traffic.
As I'd never driven the road before (mountain road) I hit a conservative 180mph on the NSL stretch, perfectly legal, I was playing it safe and picked my braking marker probably 500 yards or so short and was not aware of the epic straight as I came out the corner, so could have been on power earlier, but I was playing it safe and remaining well within mine and my cars limits.
Some of the more challenging NSL roads, tighter, bumpier were still a lot of fun well in excess of 100mph.
Anyway the following day the mountain course was set to one way traffic as Isle of Mann is motorist friendly so I thought on this day I shall try cracking 200mph or close to it, unfortunately the conditions changed to heavy rain and very low cloud. I was gutted but even in such conditions excess of 100mph was easy and safe to do, because I am experience with high-speed and have a car very capable of it with latest technology tyres. We were part of a tours holiday with around 60 cars, all drivers did speeds which in UK would have the tree huggers out with pitch forks demanding crush the cars and jail the owners, guess what could not be more welcome there and not a single accident or issue.
I shall be back again, simply as it is epic fun to drive at such speeds and is of course legal, proof speed is not the issue, lack of control / common sense is the issue. Anyway video from one of the smaller courses I did in poor weather, still great fun:
Personally for UK mainland, driving standards do seem to have got worse, so though I'd like higher speed limits, cannot see it happening. UK needs a stricter harder to pass test and written exam I feel to improve quality of driving and reduce accidents.
Intriguingly they claim a win for the 50 MPH sections based on https://www.gov.wales/sites/default...-the-motorway-and-trunk-road-2022-to-2023.pdf "Concentrations can be seen to have decreased over time at both roadside and background locations"... if you look at the wider data such as https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/air-quality-statistics/ntrogen-dioxide you see exactly the same trend irrespective of whether there are speed limit restrictions for "air quality" purposes...
Far too many of these things seem to be introduced based on manipulated data and/or what works in a lab (but doesn't in the real world) with seeming thought that because of good intentions it must be right...
Yeah it makes sense that there is a general trend downwards anyway due to the reduction of diesel car usage and ever stricter emission controls on cars
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It really is this ^
One only has to look at the mid life crisis born again bikers who rush out and buy a 200+bhp bike then proceed to turn themselves into meat rain at the first opportunity.
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One thing that annoys me in this respect is the number of people who only change their speed after passing the new limit signs i.e. one I do a lot here https://maps.app.goo.gl/GKaNTszCMPut8D997 it catches so many people out behind me when I bring my speed down to pass the sign at 30 instead of passing the 30 sign at 60 as so many do and then bringing their speed down - even get a fair few people swerve around me giving me grief...
Soldato
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People do seem to forget that you need to enter the zone at/below the new speed limit
Yeah - I don't really care what other people do in this respect but when they don't expect/can't deal with someone else who is driving to the speed limits that annoys me.
You're right on motorcycles, they are well over represented in the death stats but its not just that. People tend to overstate their ability, i.e those who think they are 'good' drivers often are not. Males aged about 18-40 are well over represented in the speeding death stats as well which is not surprising does give an insight into who is doing most of the speeding.
One of the worst situations is when you mix someone reasonably competent but not a professional driver speeding with someone driving indecisively and/or dawdling a moderate amount under a reasonable speed for the limit and conditions... far too much potential for confusion and deadly outcome
I saw one here the other day https://maps.app.goo.gl/9gx7C721Ks2LxexM7 I'd been following a car with 2 old ladies in for the last miles or so who was doing about 40 in the NSL limit and kept drifting over to the right of their lane and back, was considering overtaking but their manner of driving was concerning me (and I'm always leery of overtaking with turnings coming up), then a car came flying up behind doing at least 70+ and without hesitation decided to go around both of us just as the car in front of me started hesitantly into a right turn putting their indicator on after starting the manoeuvre, no idea how they didn't collide.
Could be completely wrong but I blame this on modern technology... <shakes fist at cloud!>
Every car I've driven/been in that does speed limit recognition changes it only when you pass the sign, which somewhat makes sense but also means my car would give me the NSL sign until I pass a 30 limit sign at which point it flashes a 30mph sign at me on the dash. It would beep if I had that enabled.
The point being I believe that people pass on the responsibility to the technology, rather than actually pay attention/look where you're going, so they don't even realise the limit has changed until they pass the sign.
Cause Safety.
A good point though I think it is more an emerging problem than the root of a lot of current attitudes. I do wonder what people's reaction would be if caught by the police at the place I linked before doing double the speed limit or more into the 30 :s
Soldato
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That’s a really good point actually, I hadn’t considered that.
I think we will learn that reliance on technology is detrimental to independent thought and assessment - both of which contribute to road safety.
I fear that we are trending towards a future where younger generations will be reliant on technology too much, where if it isn’t implemented properly or not functioning, it will impair their ability to drive safely.
I heard today that London is going to allow driverless Ubers from next spring, a year ahead of schedule.
I don't think we're too far away from cars automatically slowing down to the speed limit when they see a sign.
@MrRockliffe The independent thought and assessment may very well be taken away from us, probably not in my lifetime, but I think it's coming.
I don't think we're too far away from cars automatically slowing down to the speed limit when they see a sign.
@MrRockliffe The independent thought and assessment may very well be taken away from us, probably not in my lifetime, but I think it's coming.
Here's a couple of questions for yourselves:
- Do you believe that we should have a speed limit? In theory, we could drop them completely
- If you believe that we should have a speed limit, how would you like it to operate? Do bear in mind that if you add complexity (e.g. variable speed limits), it increases the costs
Variable limits work ok on motorways, a lot of the infrastructure is already there. As well as the existing traffic based stuff they do it would be good to see variable based on weather, if the road is clear and weather good we could have 80, similarly if its raining etc drop it to 60 although people would probably moan about that as well. Variable limits on other roads is probably a step too far, way too expensive to implement.
I'm going to go with "waah waah waah, they're only there to generate revenue, it's so sneaky to catch people just where the limit changes, waaah, go and solve some real crimes!"
On the one hand, I could actually see a benefit to this; with a limit in place, there's a subconscious belief that it's perfectly safe to drive at that speed, when in many cases it actually isn't. Giving drivers information about the hazards on the road, but not the speed they should be sticking to would potentially force them to actually think about those hazards and determine an appropriate speed themselves. I'm sure I remember there was a study done where some roads had markings removed and drivers were actually slower and more careful (I may have completely made this up however, it was a long time ago!).
On the other hand, this relies on drivers actually being sensible - it would most likely only affect those drivers competent enough to already do this, and the people who already ignore the limits would just drive faster (it would also be carnage while people got used to the change!).
While the current system is far from perfect, it's pretty good, I'd be all for harsher punishments for those speeding, but only combined with sensible limits in place, e.g. blanket 20mph limits are a waste of time IMO - as already posted above, people tend to ignore them, and it probably builds a habit of ignoring limits in general. A timed 20mph limit outside a school in the morning and afternoon, fine, but that same limit shouldn't still be in place at 3am when the roads are deserted! Likewise, motorway speed limits should be re-assessed and probably increased (at least outside of built-up areas).
Ultimately though, it's down to people proving they can be trusted to drive sensibly, and that's never going to happen, so the laws need to cater to the lowest common denominator.
The studies Ive seen are usually in built up areas. I think Holland have implemented this style of road where they remove all pavements, road furniture and road markings and as a result drivers slow down as everyone shares the space