Speeding on the M4 in Wiltshire (II)

To me that's a crazy stint but I guess it all depends on your physiology, fintess etc... and the need to undertake it. Longest trip in recent times was St Andrews to home (near Bath). It was fine but the next day I felt like ten types of shit.

Cheers

Harry

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Toy:
I'd been driving almost continuously for 22 and a half hours.

Hoping to make the Darwin Awards 2006, Steve??
Or a regular column in DVT Monthly?

Dear Steve,

That really is not much cleverer than saying that you had had only had four pints, at the time when I was struggling to keep going!

I detest driving on on M-ways, and you see others who are palpably sruggling to stay awake sometimes, and at lunatic speeds too.

Fredrik

The tiredness and speed (110mph in a 1.4 Escort) was exceptionally irresponsible on my part, that I'll happily admit. I was within 20 km from my destination - a bed to sleep in, and my girlfriend whom I hadn't seen for two months. I just wanted to get there. I saw the de-restriction sign (i.e: no speed limit) and went for it along a ruler-straight stretch of autobahn. It was a choice of a break at an exit and then try to navigate my way back onto the motorway or to keep going. I chose the latter.

At 4.30 pm I finally arrived at her flat and my arms were shaking...

I'd worked the night shift on the taxis till 2 am, left for Dover half an hour later after a shower and a change of clothes, arrived in Dover at about 5 am, tried to sleep till my departure but it didn't happen. I bought a fire extinguisher and first-aid kit for my car, got on the Seacat, arrived in Calais, drove through Belgium and Luxembourg with only three brief stops for two 5-min power naps, fags and cheap petrol in Luxembourg before heading through the remainder of my journey in Germany. Oh, and during my drive around Saabrucken in dense traffic, I eased off the pedal to allow an un-interrupted flow of traffic onto the autobahn from a sliproad. The wave of thanks from one driver boosted my spirits a bit for the 30-odd miles to follow...

I slept for two hours before hitting the town and going on the piss.

The following day we drove, splitting the driving, down to Châlon-sur-Saone in France for the night before continuing to Montpellier the day after.

In the space of a week we went around France in an anti-clockwise direction, through Millau before the viaduct was completed some months later, via the Limousin, Vendee, before we did a 400 mile stretch back to Boulogne on the last day before catching the ferry back to Dover the day after.

The stretch in the UK from Dover to Staffs was the most tiring bit as always.

The beauty of speed in the right places is that it's easy and does seriously cut your journey time giving you more leisure/relaxation time afterwards as well as more sleep time beforehand.

It's so easy to be glib and sanctimonious about low speeds when you don't have big distances to cover. If I'd driven slowly I'd have spent more time on the road, got less sleep and been more tired.

Opening up the speed to just under a very safe ton along those empty 3-lane stretches of M6/M74 four years ago enabled me to do Staffs to Edinburgh in 4 hours. These days, with Talivans it can't be risked, but that only adds an hour plus to the journey time if you factor in the need for a break after a 4-hour max stint that would not otherwise be necessary.

On balance, I don't think it is a safer journey. I think experienced drivers should be cut some slack by the Powers for everyone's benefit.

Ever tried your skills on a track Steve?

Only Gran Tourismo on the Playstation

I also believe that deliberately increasing car journey times is part of the plan. Transport 2000 is sponsored by the privatised rail and bus companies and is a staunch campaigner for lowered and strictly enforced speed limits.

Instead of going from Staffs to Edinburgh by car in four hours using £60 fuel for the return trip, they want you to pay £120 each to catch the bloody train.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Toy:
Only Gran Tourismo on the Playstation

]...].

Dear Steve,

I tried that, and I kept crashing! I would rate it as harder than driving a real car. There is no feel for when grip is getting near the edge, or when the brake on really working, and so it just goes wrong. Fredrik

I think we should try and get Steve on (rather than in) Top Gear somehow.

Going round and round a track might be fun but it won't get me anywhere, and it'll be expensive.

My only hope is a spot of go-karting.