55 in a 30 limit!

[MK-2]

Have you had anyone knocked over outside the school? Reason I ask is outside ours used to be really dangerous. Central reservation which was falling to bits with 6-7ft bushes on it - kids just popped out from between the bushes. This was apparently the crossing point for upto 1200 pupils! Everyone constantly moaned about it, nothing happened. Kid gets knocked over, the whole lot is ripped out and a new contral reservation with railings, and 2 pelican crossings installed.

 

Why does it take someone to die/get injured before "they" will do anything about it? "They've" obviously got enough money to put cameras up as they are on industrial estates where I live, but ask for one outside a school... That is why I take the attitude towards them that I do

 

i think the problem there is that if it is done before, there will always be some people who oppose it for the sake of it.

for instance if the government banned all use of mobile phones in a car as of today, some people would complain that its going too far. if however tomorrow a driver using handsfree ploughed into schoolkids, there would be uproar over why the government hasn't done anything sooner. it's sort of a lose-lose situation, so i can see why these things don't happen. don't agree with it though, but can see why

[Martin]

I agree, they are money making devices, but then the argument could also be if everybody drove to the letter of the law and didn't speed, there would be no income for these devices and they would be removed

 

Nah, they would just reduce the speed limit further until more people broke it again

 

mb

[Hightower]

FYI generally (at least up in Scotland) they only put mobile vans where there is likely to be breaches and there has been reports of speeding/dangerous driving, its not a *out to get you* thing.

 

Unlike the static camera's which are just planted anywhere they fancy lol. On my last count to Edinburgh, there were 24 static speed cameras on the road from the borders to edinburgh.

[localzuk]

If it is, then it's making money out of fools and those fools choose to be fools so they should put up with the consequences of that instead of whining as if they are being served up some outrageous injustice. And if they are NOT fools, then they are inattentive idiots who, being incapable of spotting a large speed sign, should have their licences revoked on the spot.

 

Speed limits are set for many reasons, not just safety. Some drivers seem to forget that they share the environment with many other users who all have different requirements. The house near the speed limit sign doesn't want to put up with the extra road noise of a faster car and why should they? The horse riders have every right to expect not to encounter vehicles exceeding the limit before the signs. May complainers seem completely unable to comprehend that there might be any other criteria other than that THEY think it's safe for them.

 

Speed limit signs are placed where they are - if you choose to accelerate beyond the posted limit before you pass them, then take your punishment like a grown-up and stop whining like a baby.

 

 

Just to correct you - speed limits are only used as a safety tool. Road noise is NOT a condition that local authorities or the highways agency use as a criteria when determining speed limits. A brief idea of how speed limits are set can be found here - Speed limits

[SimpleSi]

I see we are doing well with keeping to the OP

 

Thanks for all the Info - ZHs link wins 1st prize

 

Si

[oalcock]

Sounds like you're having fun with your daughter recently; firstly with the problems with the flights and now this.... It's not hard to do 55 on some 30mph roads because it's rediculous for a 30mph limit on some roads.

[MK-2]

I see we are doing well with keeping to the OP

 

Thanks for all the Info - ZHs link wins 1st prize

 

Si

 

fine, yes, we'll talk about the triple click thing then to get it back on topic! ffs

 

 

 

[mats]

Sounds like you're having fun with your daughter recently; firstly with the problems with the flights and now this.... It's not hard to do 55 on some 30mph roads because it's rediculous for a 30mph limit on some roads.

 

.. although when you're on a bicycle, the difference between being passed at 55 and 30 on a road with a 30 limit is huge. One feels life threatening, the other is just unpleasant.

[pcstru]

Just to correct you - speed limits are only used as a safety tool. Road noise is NOT a condition that local authorities or the highways agency use as a criteria when determining speed limits. A brief idea of how speed limits are set can be found here - Speed limits

 

Local councils will take many things into consideration including if appropriate, noise. Speed limits are not JUST about safety - nor should they be. The last bullet point in your link :

 

Environmental impact such as increased journey times, vehicles emissions, and the visual impact of the signing.

 

Noise is just another environmental impact.

[mattx]

I thought points meant prizes......

[MK-2]

I thought points meant prizes......

 

they do, and remember if you are going through an accident hotspot.....what is a hotspot not?...........

[CAM]

I didn't say they were the same severity, but they are both still equally illegal. I myself know there is an area on my drive home where its NSL but 40 uphill to get to it, so by the time i get to the NSL sign I'm over 40. I know that, but if I were fined/penalised for it, I can't blame anyone but myself.

 

as for the 20 zones. does that mean that you should be allowed to do 30 in a 20 zone just because its not a schoolday? so parents should keep kids away from any 20 zone on a weekend because its fair game then?

 

I am not arguing that speed cameras are primarily for money making, but it still doesn't escape the fact that the specified speed limit is the law, despite what we might think about it being safe to speed up before. something doesn't become legal just because we disagree with it or its implementation

 

So, a road goes 30 for many years then someone at the council decides it is "policy" to make it a 20 as it is near a school. Why is it suddenly not suitable for being a 30 road when the school is not in use? Roads in my area were not made 20 zones for safety reasons, they were made 20 zones for the sake of policy (even though the same council has one school sitting on a 40 road that isn't changed simply because it is a major route into London, why is that not a 20?).

[SimpleSi]

Unfortunately, the main problem is that the signing of speed limits is using old tech (e.g sign in ground) but the policing of it is using new tech (cameras) (And its used assertively ).

 

So, mainly for economic/ergonomic reasons, whole stretches of road are at an average limit that don't make a lot of sense.

 

Once all cars have computer controlled GPS speed limiters (a la co-op scheme mentioned) reporting transgressions direct back to DVLA then it'll become a non-issue.

 

I myself, have written an Android app that takes speed limits from the Openspeedmap database and tells me the current speed limit (and warns if more than 10% over). Its automatically launched when I plug power into it in the car and saves me from the same fate as my daughter.

 

Trouble is - she's a Iphone girl

 

Si

[SimpleSi]

@Jose

I feel a lot of pain coming your way!

Si

 

PS for late-comers - Jose's tales of their own driving experiences/advice on avoiding correct driver prosecution (which has been deleted ) were not - lets say - views likely to be held by most UK citizens

Edited September 8, 2011 by SimpleSi

[mattx]

@Jose

I feel a lot of pain coming your way!

Si

 

.....Like a head smashing into a windscreen type pain ?

[elsiegee40]

Remember after next year car insurance policies cannot take gender into account so her premium will be the same as a man of the same age and driving record etc.

Your advice is not helpful, it's illegal. Not something that is ever condoned on these boards. That's not me being a leftie; that's the rules.

Edited September 8, 2011 by witch

[Jose]

.....Like a head smashing into a windscreen type pain ?

 

unlikely my cars got over 4 airbags

[john]

I thought points meant prizes......

Matt you don't work in a school anymore and thus they don't

 

As for your App Si, why not get a TomTom and keep it in the car? Mine has speed limit warning on it and makes a noise if i go over the limit by more than 5mph (user adjustable) and you don't need to be mapping the route to use it just have it turned on.

[GrumbleDook]

Darn it ... a traffic thread and I missed all the fun.

 

As for those with SatNavs / Apps I have always wondered why people set the alarm / notification for when they are x% *over* the speed limit ... surely you should all be setting it to either the speed limit or 2% below to speed limit? The idea is not to try and reach the target of the speed limit and then stop yourself from going over by too much, but to make sure that you don't go over at all.

[SimpleSi]

why not get a TomTom and keep it in the car?

Cause I've got a 'droid and i can make it do anything I want it to

Why buy something when you can make it for nowt

And also I'm a true hunter-gatherer and I'd rather drink Gateshead Brown Ale than use a Sat-Nav

 

surely you should all be setting it to either the speed limit or 2% below to speed limit? The idea is not to try and reach the target of the speed limit and then stop yourself from going over by too much, but to make sure that you don't go over at all.

Sometimes the man speaks sense

I have been thinking about changing the behaviour at the lower limits (esp 30) because it's still easy to get caught doing 34/35 before managing to correct your speed but 10% over is fine for motoway/NSL as its a lot easier to keep below the "hard ceiling" of 10%+2mph.

 

It is quite amazing how you back up traffic behind you when obeying the law

 

Simon

[elsiegee40]

It is quite amazing how you back up traffic behind you when obeying the law

 

Simon

Couldn't agree more... get far too much tailgating. It's a shame the reversing sensor can't be wired up to scream (outside... not at me) when anything gets too close behind!

[Jose]

my post has gone, rather than edit one line out she has removed lots of usefull information on road sfety that could have saved lifes.

 

Its funny how GrumbleDook did not feel the need to edit or remove it, can you please put the rest of it backup regarding motorway safety as it could help save lifes.

Sorry for using the W word but I take road safety very seriously and like to share my experience and advise with others to improve theirs.

[elsiegee40]

my post has gone, rather than edit one line out she has removed lots of usefull information on road sfety that could have saved lifes.

 

Its funny how GrumbleDook did not feel the need to edit or remove it, can you please put the rest of it backup regarding motorway safety as it could help save lifes.

Sorry for using the W word but I take road safety very seriously and like to share my experience and advise with others to improve theirs.

Grumbledook can't edit or remove posts. He isn't a mod. Nor am I.

[SimpleSi]

but I take road safety very seriously

How can anyone who admits to regularly driving at seriously OTT speeds be considered as taking road safety seriously?

 

The only people who deserve respect for driving at such speeds are advanced police drivers.

 

Si

Can I use the word plonker?

[GrumbleDook]

my post has gone, rather than edit one line out she has removed lots of usefull information on road sfety that could have saved lifes.

 

Its funny how GrumbleDook did not feel the need to edit or remove it, can you please put the rest of it backup regarding motorway safety as it could help save lifes.

Sorry for using the W word but I take road safety very seriously and like to share my experience and advise with others to improve theirs.

 

Not a Mod or Admin ... I am a bit lost on this one. If you think that someone has unfairly edited a post I would suggest using the "Message The Admins' section to ask.