55 in a 30 limit!

[Jose]

I remember a few years back, a complete misunderstanding took place, my mum recieved a letter claiming her car was speeding, she was just about to fill it in with her own name when she remembered that it was her cousin Mustupha from India that was driving that weekend.

Being the law abiding person that my mum is she had to fill in his details instead, she never heard another word. I think it terrible that if you lend your car to a relative from overseas they are unlikely to be prosecuted.

My mum and dad share the driving when going up to |Burscough, once after recieving a nip letter, luckily it ws my dad drivng as he did not have any points already on his license, had my mum been driving she would have bent sent over 12 points limit, Its just as well my dads got a good memory and owned up straight away.

[Jose]

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.

 

Sorry always thought you were because you been around for ever even on the old newsgroups etc, I just assumed you would have been asked. I've been reading sites like this and the old newsgroups for donkeys years.

[elsiegee40]

I remember a few years back, a complete misunderstanding took place, my mum recieved a letter claiming her car was speeding, she was just about to fill it in with her own name when she remembered that it was her cousin Mustupha from India that was driving that weekend.

Being the law abiding person that my mum is she had to fill in his details instead, she never heard another word. I think it terrible that if you lend your car to a relative from overseas they are unlikely to be prosecuted.

My mum and dad share the driving when going up to |Burscough, once after recieving a nip letter, luckily it ws my dad drivng as he did not have any points already on his license, had my mum been driving she would have bent sent over 12 points limit, Its just as well my dads got a good memory and owned up straight away.

Don't tempt fate! * Shakes head *

 

 

Grumbledook used to be a mod many moons ago, but joined 'the other side' (the LA ) and didn't feel the two were compatible

[SimpleSi]

Well as much as I enjoy a good troll fight, I've forgotton the 2 rules - they always win and they like doing it so its goodnight from me.

Si

PS But it looks like I can say plonker

PPS What about wassock?

[GrumbleDook]

 

Trouble is - she's a Iphone girl

 

Si

 

Although not as accurate as the TomTom receiver and app on an iPhone it might be worth looking at Skobbler Lite.

[GrumbleDook]

Sorry always thought you were because you been around for ever even on the old newsgroups etc, I just assumed you would have been asked. I've been reading sites like this and the old newsgroups for donkeys years.

 

I retired from being an Admin a few years back because I had moved over to the LA, had a massive workload and was trying to get some semblance of a life back ... I still never found it, the workload got filled up with other things instead but at least I can relax and not have to herd cats in here

 

As for the old newsgroups ... I miss those circular arguements about Windows / RiscOS / Linux ... and the trolls ain't as good as they used to be either. All we need now is for @SpuffMonkey to come along and tell us about when *he* first got into computers

[Jose]

Well as much as I enjoy a good troll fight, I've forgotton the 2 rules - they always win and they like doing it so its goodnight from me.

Si

PS But it looks like I can say plonker

PPS What about wassock?

 

Not a troll, search my other posts all on education tech stuff, I wanted to help you with advise to reduce your burden, everyone is entitled under British law to defend themselves against allegations, I was offering advise based on my own experience and others.

Also I feel quite hurt that you think I'm dangerious driver. The trained traffic police that I have passed doing 110 + over the years late at night on a empty M6 or M40 would rather spend their time dealing with dangerious drivers, changing lanes without indicaters for example, poorly maintained cars that cannot stop quickly even at under 70mph.

Trust me talk to a proper traffic cop with 20 years experience, a experienced driver like me in German quality car with the best safety technical specs is not a danger. Now a old woman with bad eyesight in 14 year old ford escort is different.

[Jose]

I remember some heated threads on the newsgroups about opensource with some guy called Ian L from the learning machine and some bloke called Covey systems, my memory is hazy.

[CESIL]

OK, I don't want to get into any sort of Troll war but here is my advice anyway...

 

All speedometers are legally not allowed to read more than the actual speed you are doing.

Manufacturers therefore make them to read under the actual speed (to allow for tyre pressure variation and wear etc) by about 10%.

Speed cameras are set to react to vehicles travelling at (((speed limit) + 10%) +2)) or at least they are in Hampshire.

Therefore if you drive according to your speedo then you are very unlikely to get snapped unless yours is very out of calibration.

 

Notes.

1. I got my information from my Dad who recently retired as a magistrate and was on the bench to hear many, many drivers claim they were being unfairly treated as they were only rushing to the bedside of their dying Grandfather,Grandmother or they were being tail gated or they didn't see the signs etc etc so please let them off...

2. I regularly drive past the camera near my house at an indicated 32/33mph with no problem...and usually the ar*ehole who has been tailgating me along the road up to that point has dropped way back from my bumper.

3. The maths (I believe) shows that to be caught at an actual 35+ mph (enough to trigger the camera) your speedo will probably be showing nearly 40mph.

 

ps The last time I got caught was by a handheld camera at 40 in a 30 about 30 years ago when I had overtaken an idiot slowing down to look at a new housing estate and then speeded up when I was alongside him...of course I chose to put my foot down rather than ease off and pull in behind him...such is the folly of youth

 

And to @Jose I say that drivers who think they are safer than others are probably the worst...driving at 110+ at any time on British roads is illegal...nuff said

Edited September 8, 2011 by CESIL

[Jose]

no one is trolling, people opinions will differ on this subject, when I get in my car and drive on a motorway late at night to get home, I as the driver with the responsibilty for my passengers will make the decision on what speed is safe not a snooty govenment official. I will take all things into account, weather conditions, the quality of my car and ensure any speed is safe for this vehicle, also other road users, its not safe to go even at 50-60 if your stuck bumper to bumper.

 

When I first past my test at around 18, I was a crap driver in a old banger but both me and the cars that I drive had gone up in quality.

Trust me when I say this good quality modern cars have so many extra safety features to stop cars losing control, like I said talk to veteran traffic cop, I used to drive to away games up north regularly and never got a pullover, the reason being a good experienced traffic cop will use his own judgement on your drving,

[mattx]

Not a Mod or Admin ... I am a bit lost on this one.

 

Sounds like you need your Sat Nav on..........

[MK-2]

a experienced driver like me in German quality car with the best safety technical specs is not a danger. Now a old woman with bad eyesight in 14 year old ford escort is different.

 

i've never had a 14 year old escort driven by a woman with bad eyesight sitting on my bumper when i'm doing the speed limit flashing their lights and gesturing for me to shift because they want to get up to 100+mph.

i have, however, had (what the person would probably believe) an experienced driver, driving in a german quality car with the best technical specs do that, and that is a danger.

 

its all relative. your car might be built fantastically, but i'm pretty sure it would still dent and crumple the say way another car would if it slams into a wall at 100mph. and confidence can be misplaced. you may be the most confident and experienced driver in the world, but judging by your posts i would guess also slightly arrogant (woman driver in a banger, your german quality car, how to escape punishment, etc)

[localzuk]

Driving at high speed on public roads is simply not safe, regardless of your individual car or driving skills.

 

Roads are not single user places, there are many users on them - even at night. So, even though you may think you're driving safely, what happens if a car in front of you does something stupid? You've not got the time to react at such high speeds, even with all the safety devices on modern cars.

 

Or how about when you're driving along a road at 110+ and you don't see that the road ahead is strewn with glass or similar, it damages your tires - that can be enough to cause a fatal accident.

 

Also, saying you make the decision and not 'a snooty government official' - that is the height of selfishness. You live in a society that has rules there. If you disagree with having a government, may I suggest a change of surroundings? I hear Somalia is nice this time of year...

[GrumbleDook]

@Jose : That snooty Govt official will range from the politician who is making a point, the civil service who prepare the papers, the technical research agencies who spend a serious amount of time looking at the damage a vehicle can do, the probability of the accident occurring, taking quantitative and qualitative data from a wide range of sources including the Police, DVLA, NHS and hospital trusts, independent organisations, community groups, etc ... and then the guidance and laws is constructive out of this. The laws set the rules and the guidance is about when choosing the speed limits is most appropriate. Decisions on speed limits are not taken likely and it is deemed to be based on the ideal of "Better to go to slow that risk people going too fast, but we need to let people get from A to B". Under H&S risk assessments you are meant to go for the lowest risk possible and consider any foreseeable risk. This includes managing the risk that people will ignore the limit completely if set too low and to try to be reasonable.

 

Does the system get misused at times? Yes ... the same as any bureaucratic process there is that chance, but from talking to a number of the people involved in the above it is rarer than people make out.

 

It doesn't matter how good a driver anyone says they are there is always the chance that something can go wrong and speed increases that risk. Whilst you (and many others, including a number of members on this site) are happy to take this risk the law says it is not happy for you to have that choice. If you want to change the law then campaign and even get yourself into a position to help make the change.

[bmdixon]

OK, I don't want to get into any sort of Troll war but here is my advice anyway...

All speedometers are legally not allowed to read more than the actual speed you are doing.

Manufacturers therefore make them to read under the actual speed (to allow for tyre pressure variation and wear etc) by about 10%.

Speed cameras are set to react to vehicles travelling at (((speed limit) + 10%) +2)) or at least they are in Hampshire.

Therefore if you drive according to your speedo then you are very unlikely to get snapped unless yours is very out of calibration.

Isn't it the other way round? ie the speedo must not be under what you're actually doing?

eg. you're actually travelling at 30mph but the speedo will usually say 33-35.

if they're reading under the speed then you're going quicker than you think?

 

I think the speed camera triggering point varies from county to county but generally i think it is +10% ish.

[Gibbo]

when I get in my car and drive on a motorway late at night to get home, I as the driver with the responsibilty for my passengers will make the decision on what speed is safe not a snooty govenment official. I will take all things into account, weather conditions, the quality of my car and ensure any speed is safe for this vehicle, also other road users, its not safe to go even at 50-60 if your stuck bumper to bumper.

 

I think the biggest problem this country has is that most drivers aren't sensible enough to make those judgement calls, or feel they're adequately qualified enough to make a decision themselves. You only have to see how many people jump red lights or block box junctions to see that driving standards are at an all time low. I remember a time when if someone made a mistake on the road, they'd generally put their hand up and gesture an apology. Now if you dare to rebuke someone with your horn or lights you get nothing but abuse, road rage or even being followed.

 

But until this country has zero avoidable accidents on the motorway (I saw an amazing one a few weeks ago where a woman just pulled out into the middle lane and knocked a biker off. It closed the motorway for 4 hours and gridlocked all the surrounding roads, and daily see people driving too close and too fast) and no-one being caught by speed cameras then there is no way this government will reward any good driving.

Edited September 9, 2011 by Gibbo

[36Degrees]

My wife and I were discussing the public information films that used to be shown many years ago, whatever happened to them? I still remember "Only a fool breaks the two second rule" even though I couldn't drive at the time it was shown. If some of those were revived it wouldn't stop all accidents but at least it might reduce the number.

[SmellyLlama]

I got caught doing 49 in a 30 just recently. First time in 13 years riding motocycles.

Anything over 39 and there's no chance of 'doing a course'. I got a £60 fine and three points. Which has made my car insurance go up, not that it's cheap anyway.

[Guest Guest]

All speedometers are legally not allowed to read more than the actual speed you are doing. You mean less

Speed cameras are set to react to vehicles travelling at (((speed limit) + 10%) +2)) or at least they are in Hampshire. Not everywhere, the police in Cleveland do you for 1mph over

Therefore if you drive according to your speedo then you are very unlikely to get snapped unless yours is very out of calibration. As above, depends what county you live in

 

Tailgaters - I've never understood why people dismiss that as a reason you were a couple of mph over. People can pressure you into going faster, especially if they are driving a raggy old tranny van/hgv/etc. Besides which the whole point of speed limits is for safety correct? So how is it in the interest of safety to have someone 2 foot off your bumper so that when a kid steps out the guy behind pushes you straight into them?

 

Most of the time all you need to do is slow down even more and they get the idea, but I remeber once driving over the moors from the lakes at night with a HGV following me, he certainly forced me to do the speed HE wanted to do

Edited September 9, 2011 by Guest

[HarryMonkey]

The (fixed) cameras in Northants have been switched off. Since then there has been an increase in drivers exceeding the speed limit, however, there has not been an increase in accidents.

[pcstru]

Tailgaters - I've never understood why people dismiss that as a reason you were a couple of mph over.

 

The correct thing to do is to slow down until the gap they ARE willing to leave is appropriate for the speed. I picked up a speeding ticket for 36 in a 30 after someone pulled in behind me and insisted on driving 6in off my rear bumper - only after getting the ticket (and fuming for an hour or so) did the correct thing to do (and why it was the correct thing) click.

[CAM]

That would just incite more road rage and encourage people to overtake. Whilst it isn't very pleasant doing 50 through the M25 widening and having HGV's on your rear bonnet, you just have to ignore them and let the averaging camera deal with it when they overtake.

[SmellyLlama]

I think the biggest problem this country has is that most drivers aren't sensible enough to make those judgement calls, or feel they're adequately qualified enough to make a decision themselves. You only have to see how many people jump red lights or block box junctions to see that driving standards are at an all time low. I remember a time when if someone made a mistake on the road, they'd generally put their hand up and gesture an apology. Now if you dare to rebuke someone with your horn or lights you get nothing but abuse, road rage or even being followed.

 

But until this country has zero avoidable accidents on the motorway (I saw an amazing one a few weeks ago where a woman just pulled out into the middle lane and knocked a biker off. It closed the motorway for 4 hours and gridlocked all the surrounding roads, and daily see people driving too close and too fast) and no-one being caught by speed cameras then there is no way this government will reward any good driving.

 

I went to Germany on holiday last year on my bike. The Germans put everyone inbetween there and here to shame with thier driving skill displayed on the motorways. There are far too many people in the UK that have no idea how to use the motorway and as such it is dangerous and congested. People often stay in the outside lane when the other lanes are free and refuse to move over even when people aproach faster than them. I know this is sligtly off topic but rrrrrrraaahhhggg it drives me nuts.

 

I was told the 2 second rule too during my driving instruction. I remembered it from doing my CBT years ago.

 

I drive much slower in the car than I do on my bike, and when sticking to the posted limits you often get tailgaters. I find it's best to just plain ignore them or even slow by 5mph. Getting het up about it does nothing, letting them make you drive faster than you want to is also pointless. rant(s) over o/

[Flakes]

The correct thing to do is to slow down until the gap they ARE willing to leave is appropriate for the speed. I picked up a speeding ticket for 36 in a 30 after someone pulled in behind me and insisted on driving 6in off my rear bumper - only after getting the ticket (and fuming for an hour or so) did the correct thing to do (and why it was the correct thing) click.

 

whenever i get tailgated i slow right down, i even do this if i think the driver behind isnt paying attention, i had some woman driving behind me the other day who was applying lipstick while looking into her rear mirror, this lead me to slow down to 10MPH(i was in a 30MPH), i only sped back up when she start to wave her arms and swear at me

[SmellyLlama]

whenever i get tailgated i slow right down, i even do this if i think the driver behind isnt paying attention, i had some woman driving behind me the other day who was applying lipstick while looking into her rear mirror, this lead me to slow down to 10MPH(i was in a 30MPH), i only sped back up when she start to wave her arms and swear at me

 

hehe, I like that.