The bit that got me was two cars side by side on a dual lane, one doing 30 the other passing at 35, pedestrian steps out at exactly the point where the one doing 30 can stop, the one doing 35 is still doing 17mph at that point!
my first day out in a artic a car hit the side of my lorry doing about 45 on a island. Small dent in lorry. Totally written off datsun and a seriously injured driver. Luckily the polices were sat on the island and watched it all happen. So when the Datsun driver later blamed me they summoned him.
A few things jump out on me here, reaction times, the road conditions.. I understand why they quote the figures, but at the same time, I don't like figures like this.. I ride a 97' GSXR600, I could try to stop that as quick as possible, someone on a 2013 GSXR600 next to me could do the same and he would stop in a lot shorter distance.. Simply because of the technology involved. I like the idea of the workshops and they make people like you and I think, but theres a large majority of people who do the course to stop getting points and take no notice of it all.
I'm always aware of the speed I'm going at because there is a big thing called a speedometer. Having someone who has been caught for speeding lay out loads of facts and figures on the pitfalls of speeding is a bit like listening to Gerry Adams talk about peace and reconciliation...
At least you will beat your mate though Good they provide a refresher crash course in basic maths though. Glad to see our tax dollar isn't going to waste
Are these figures based on the joke Highway Code stopping distances? Shows how laughable this obsession with speed is - the actual speed of the one doing 35 mph depends on how much attention he is paying, tyre type and condition, brake efficiency, vehicle weight and condition, driver skill ......... The 35 mph guy might even stop first, or he might have been paying attention and backed off when he saw a loitering pedestrian at the kerb and got to watch 30 mph guy knock him over.
Think it was based on the same driver/car/ conditions/ reaction time etc The course mainly made me more aware of looking out for speed cameras!
To be honest speeding issues apart I think these courses are also self perpetuating job creation schemes, think of how many people are involved in the running of these things, from those looking after the cameras to the police and then on to the so called advanced driver companies who run them, it's a lot of cushty jobs that need us to speed to keep them employed, on my course we had a man and a woman instructing us both advanced drivers, it emerged they were man and wife, both self employed who were contracted to do these courses, good work if you can get it, wonder how much they charge
I went through a camera in France yesterday going too fast. It flashed me so I guess the ticket is in the post. At least its only a fine.
The government stopped the 'safety partnerships' from keeping money from speeding fines as it was seen as encouraging them to raise money and not make the roads safer (as if..... ). This meant that cameras started to get switched off because they were being paid for in fines. Speed awareness course money does go to the 'safety partnerships', so the only way these schemes can keep their income up and pay for all of the cameras / vans is to send motorists caught speeding on an awareness course and not issue a fixed penalty. The money you pay for the speeding awareness course pays for the people / equipment to catch you next time!
I do think alot of speed limits are their to catch people out , 30, 50 , 40, 30, 60 , and some for very short stretches so drivers who ARNT concentrating or aware of their speed are easily caught out, my sat nav bleeps if you go over the speed limit so really if you have one of these you should be aware but you should anyway they are" normally "their for a safety reason. So you do need to concentrate and drive carefully all the time not just so you dont get caught but so you dont have an accident or possibly maime or kill someone who didnt realise you was Lewis Hamilton ,think ahead can you live with that?. Round here on country roads its a nightmare , people come off of major motorways and big dual carraigeways and from the city and drive the same on these little lanes that have tractors and dangerous bends on them, if we were all programmed to know you have to drive at a certain speed in different areas , ie 70 max on motor ways unless after a certain time "perhaps"? and 30 max in citys , n single lane country roads n where their are street lights and twenty max near any school or play areas, it would be a safer and quieter place for eveyone .oh and build big race tracks in every major town for those that like to show how fast they can go and let them crash into one another maybe? Its very very sad when you here this ,i will get their faster n im late so get out of my way attitude. My answer to this is get up earlier and leave in plenty of time, if your going on a nice holiday abroad and need to be on a plane do you leave late ?? or do you allow for eventualities?? mmm . N sorry im late but i killed someone rushing to get here coz i dont give a parp about anyone else. I think this race track attidude is worst than carrying a loaded gun personally. Reaction times dont count if you are speeding and yes road conditions ,high winds , rain after dry weather, greasy roads, fog etc do they teach this to new drivers?? I was ribbed by someone off here about parking my van in supermarket car parks , it wasnt that i couldnt park in a small space its because their are alot who dont give a flying parp what they do in them and with their doors . I like to give the person next to me room to get out of their car too , its respect . mmm maybe i could get a job ay woody . Ps if you have a nice fast posh car pose n drive slow so people can see whos driving it , it makes more sense, than people having ta say whos that idiot or what ever they call you
The fact is, the vast majority of drivers stick to the rules and drive safely, we we would be in sh-te street otherwise Barney. I know exactly what you're saying and I agree, But when you cut it into percentages - 28 million cars on British roads if 99 ish percent of drivers are driving within the rules and 1 percent ish are driving poorly there is an awful lot of bad driving going on. I love the " look at me - I am a great fast motorway driver " brigade, They are so Girly when they have a crash " it wasn't my fault, I didn't see it, the sun was in my eyes, he pulled out on me, he was driving too slowly- etc - No mate you were the cause of it!
i agree malc to a point but i think alot more than 1% drive too fast or dangerously, unless they all live down ear
What gets on my nerves is having to constantly watch the speedo rather than the road. There are plenty of NSL roads where it's safe to go over 60 and plenty where it's not safe to do 30, so working to a fixed speed limit hardly helps road safety. There are also otherwise identical roads outside built up areas where the limit may be 70 mph or 50 mph, dependent on council policy and not on the type of road, so it's dangerous and a crime to drive at 60 along one piece of road and safe / legal to do 70 on the other. Rigid enforcement of limits to the letter of the law encourages lowest common denominator driving (I'm under the limit so I'm a safe driver) rather than being aware of what is going on around you and driving accordingly, not to mention maintaining your vehicle properly, fitting decent tyres, adjusting speed to weather conditions etc.
You don't live in France, therefore no fine in the post. Unless its a hire car. In which case cancel the credit card you payed with as soon as they put your deposit back in it. Takes a few weeks for it to be processed. Then, when the hire car company gets the fine and tries to pass it on to you by charging your credit card they can't. I normally have a few new cards each year... Italy is best, I got stopped for speeding and he asked me how much I wanted to pay. When I said €10 he said give me €15 and you can go on your way
It'll be interesting to see what happens when all cars have 'black boxes'. I'd love to see the stats that we have on cars so equipped now - what the ratio of accidents to 'within speed limits' and those where people are above the speed limit. If speed was the only determining factor then theoretically there would be no accidents by those within the limit....plainly that isn't going to be right. Personally I don't think it's a bad thing to be retested and have a rudimentary medical each year to keep your license - but I appreciate that others won't agree. Incidentally, 10 minutes is quite a long time proportionately on just above an hours driving - theoretically driving 400 miles equates to 40 minutes difference - not to be sniffed at.... For me - the killer is people using their smartphones to text of ***** arse around on in general. Final point - my satnav updates the ETA as I drive - it's only ever going to be spot on!!
Its a hire car booked through work. It'll take months but I guess itll catch up with me eventually! Its only €40 so not the end of the world; itll go on expenses anyway.
I'm going to start ignoring my satnav. It was telling me the limit was 110, I was doing 114 when flashed. The limit was actually 90. Doh
