Radar detectors

Why do you assume your judgement is better than those slower drivers you decry. I'm guessing you can't know their individual driving records.

I make no such assumption.

The assumption that I am making is that to drive along a straight stretch of road in fine conditions 15 mph below the national speed limit is not to be exercising judgement at all, and is plain lazy driving.

Not exercising judgement faculties that one may possess is not to say the individual in question does not possess the judgement capability to the same degree as I or any other driver who proceeds as quickly as it is safe to do so.

More likely the slow driver may be thinking,

"I'm not in a hurry to get anywhere, I'm enjoying the view, and as for the queue behind me, fuck 'em! In any case I'm exercising my Blair-given right not to break the law."

rather than,

"45mph is fast enough for me and I feel scared if I go any faster."

If the latter were the case I'd be asking why the driver in question was so lacking in confidence at the wheel. Confidence is not the same as competence, as irrational fears can mar ones ability to exercise balanced judgement and appropriate risk asessment.

Most drivers gain confidence with experience although I accept that bad experience, i.e: a near miss or worse can bring about a setback (that should eventualy move you forward once you've got over the initial shock) in the learning process that goes with the experience of driving; we truly begin to learn to drive only after we have passed the driving test.

I also feel that becoming a better driver is about learning from past mistakes. I also believe that taking risks in my impetuous youth has made me become a better driver:

How did I learn how to turn into a skid? ...or avoid hitting the cat this evening that ran out in front of me within a distance of no more than three car lengths by stopping in a straight line when I was travelling at 40 mph (the speed limit on this particular stretch of road)?

ABS certainly helped but I'm equally happy without it. This evening's experience with the cat did teach me that the stopping distances printed on the back of the Highway Code for given speeds are utter bullshit.

Government propaganda (The Speed-kills myth) is teaching drivers to become lazy, and switch off from the interactive process with the environment that driving safely and efficiently is really al about.

Reducing journey times without compromising safety is beneficial to the economy, and I always strive to drive as fast as it is safe to do so whilst still allowing comfortable margins of error - not just my potential error but also that of other road users.

Regards,

Steve.

[This message was edited by Steven Toy on Mon 10 May 2004 at 4:10.]

ABS does not improve braking distance. A car with all wheels locked will stop in a shorter distance (slightly) than a car with ABS. ABS improves steering when braking, but you said you were braking in a straight line. There is nothing fancy to learn in straight line braking, you just jump on the pedal. If you want to steer as well it is a different matter.

I was in Luton centre three weeks ago for the first time. I was traveling on a dual carriageway with a lorry on my left. I sped up a little, as I don't like traveling at the side of lorries, and as I nosed ahead I was suddenly flashed from the front. I quickly looked down at my speedo and I was doing 40mph. I looked at the speed limit signs and it had changed down to 30mph.

I'm not making an excuse for breaking the limit, but I was suprised that it was 30mph on a dual carriageway with no buildings either side. I hadn't seen the signs or camera because of the lorry.

What I found really strange was the camera at the front pointing at my face and then flashing. The ones that are forward facing don't flash as it can startle the driver. I've since looked on the net and can find no information on forward facing cameras that flash.

Luckily, I never got a letter.

So if anyone wants to make some money from the council, perhaps you could speed on this section of the road, get flashed in the eyes, bang your car into the barrier and sue them for all the damage, plus compensation, due them causing your temporary loss of vision

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Originally posted by count.d:
What I found really strange was the camera at the front pointing at my face and then flashing. The ones that are forward facing don't flash as it can startle the driver. I've since looked on the net and can find no information on forward facing cameras that flash.

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It may have been targeting the other carriageway. Have experienced this once myself.

Brian OReilly

No, the ones in Luton really do face the front of the car (Stuart St.). They're a smaller box than the usual Gatso, and have been like that for about 5 years - I'm not sure what purpose they serve, beyond startling drivers.

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but I was suprised that it was 30mph on a dual carriageway with no buildings either side. I hadn't seen the signs or camera because of the lorry.

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An example of an arbitrary speed limit that was more than likely revised down from 40 or 50 in recent years. Cameras don't rake in the requisite cash when they only enforce an appropriately set limit from years ago. The downward change in speed limits nearly always coincides with the arrival of the cameras.

In addition the lorry to your left obscured the 30 sign...

In all, it's one in the eye for those glib little twats who say "if you don't speed you won't get flashed."

I wonder what percentage of speeding offences are a case of drivers being tricked into believing the limit was actually higher....in other words they were speeding unintentionally.

My licence is still clean but I fear it's only a matter of time before I get caught out on an unfamiliar stretch of road where you observe all the changing limits (and make every endeavour to abide by them) and it goes thus:

Down to 30 for a built up area.

Then back up to 50 where there is nothing built directly along either side the road.

Then down to then down to 30 because there is.

Then stop at the traffic lights immediately before entering another area without buildings on either side.

Then accelerate away from the lights having sat at them for a minute or so up to 50 mph and zap!

Simple Simon didn't say the limit had gone back up to 50 just because there are a few trees and grass again, did he!

This scenario very nearly happened to me on the Chester Road (A452) heading into Streetly from the North. It is a bloody wide road and has had its speed limits heavily revised downwards in recent years.

Why aren't repeater signs painted directly on the the cameras?



Regards,

Steve.

[This message was edited by Steven Toy on Mon 10 May 2004 at 16:33.]

Why aren't repeater signs painted directly on the the cameras?


Why aren't the repeater signs on every lamp post for 30mph as well as all the other speed limits - if a speed limit is for safety then tell tell and tell the driver what the speed limit is.

Derek

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Why aren't the repeater signs on every lamp post for 30mph as well as all the other speed limits

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Because stupid as it may seem, it would be illegal. You can only have repeater 30mph limit signs where there are no lamp posts...



Regards,

Steve.

"There is nothing fancy to learn in straight line braking,"

Not strictly true, I use a technique for Tarmac rallying called Threshold Braking, this involves getting the brakes very quickly to the point where the tyres are just beginning to skid slightly, this gives much better braking than a locked wheel.

Stopping in a straight line isn't so easy when your wheels have all locked up. Skidding also reduces the rate of deceleration unless on gravel or freshly-fallen snow.



Regards,

Steve.

Absolutely right, Steven, I advocate removing the ABS fuse when driving in snow.

Sorry, I don't agree that jumping on the pedal can be bettered on tarmac. The reason you can't just lock the wheels on purpose when racing is that the tyres will flat-spot. This doesn't matter if you are just trying to avoid dying. In fresh snow and gravel, locked wheels offer much better braking than ABS/cadence, due to the build up in front of the wheels.

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Originally posted by Rockingdoc:
Sorry, I don't agree that jumping on the pedal can be bettered on tarmac.

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then try putting some water on the tarmac.