Open road speeds
Discussion
Hi,
I have not been home since 2000, and I certainly noticed then loads of speed cameras set up. From what I read in the NZ press from over here it seems the law is now extremely strict on speeding by just a few K's over the limit.
I have no problem with sticking to the speed limit in town or on busy open roads etc so thats not my question.
My question is "Can you still cruise on the open road in the middle of nowhere on a dry safe road with loads of visibility with not many other cars around at say 120kph and get away with it?"
When I was young in NZ there were plenty of roads in the South Island where you were able to do this and you would generally slow down as you got closer to towns where the police may be.
Also are radar detectors still legal?
100kph on a dry safe open road with good visibility and little traffic seems so slow in comparison to UK motorways speeds of an average of 85mph with heavy traffic.......
when I was last home I found it very difficult to stick to the speed limit on the open road....
cheers
Whitey
I have not been home since 2000, and I certainly noticed then loads of speed cameras set up. From what I read in the NZ press from over here it seems the law is now extremely strict on speeding by just a few K's over the limit.
I have no problem with sticking to the speed limit in town or on busy open roads etc so thats not my question.
My question is "Can you still cruise on the open road in the middle of nowhere on a dry safe road with loads of visibility with not many other cars around at say 120kph and get away with it?"
When I was young in NZ there were plenty of roads in the South Island where you were able to do this and you would generally slow down as you got closer to towns where the police may be.
Also are radar detectors still legal?
100kph on a dry safe open road with good visibility and little traffic seems so slow in comparison to UK motorways speeds of an average of 85mph with heavy traffic.......
when I was last home I found it very difficult to stick to the speed limit on the open road....
cheers
Whitey
where we live in the south i can still drive hundreds of kms without seeing anyone, so yes, you could drive pretty much flat out...its just stock in the roads that are a problem,especially as lambing time is now here(they get through the fences cos thy're little :wink: )
It sure ain't TVR country though, road surface off the beaten track is similar to a white on an os map
It sure ain't TVR country though, road surface off the beaten track is similar to a white on an os map
My view is - no way on earth now. Radar detector NBG - too many instant on radars and just too many cops. It seems to me - if you speed - then over a period of time, you're going to get busted. Even if you don't speed it's difficult enough!
But there are some great places to do it responsibly - and with even more fun. Track days are every week at Pukekohe (and I think most other tracks)- and are really cheap. Heaps of events that are very low key, and no idiots or hoons there.
And you can go on from there!
But there are some great places to do it responsibly - and with even more fun. Track days are every week at Pukekohe (and I think most other tracks)- and are really cheap. Heaps of events that are very low key, and no idiots or hoons there.
And you can go on from there!
Speeding in most of NZ just ain't an option.... I know that in the SO there's plenty of not oft policed, empty roads, but there's no gaurantee that the BiB won't do ya..... generally the rule of thumb is that anything up to 110km/h is fine (but that's not to say you CANT get done below this) with most speedcameras having the threshold set here.... 120km will definitely get you caught by any police officer or camera anywhere if they spot you (and more often than not they will).... only time they wont bust you for 120 is if they're not trolling for traffic and are on their way to something more important (like shift change). I'd disagree in that radar detectors ARE useful over here.... especially the decent ones (Val-1s are popular and seem to work well).... and although there are some instant-ons in use, they'll still save you from about 80% of road threats provided you're still reasonably attentive and alert...... I've been driving for 8 years over here now and only ever had one speeing fine (speed camera in a deliberate trap situation..... passing lane, downhill etc) but I do try and stick to 100km/h most of the time.... as long as you carefully weigh up the options when you dare to step outside the law... then you SHOULD be able to get away with it okay..... but if you set your speed limit at 120km/h for whenever there's an emptyish road, you're going to get done with rather alarming regularity..... because that's the sort of driver the NZ Police LOVE branding as murderers.
i'd challenge anyone to break the 100kph speed limit on the gravel roads i have to go up and down all the time.70km of road and without a couple of hundred hp and 4wd it just ain't possible.
As for when the grader has been down it, its like driving on marbles.
Its actually faster to do it on the vforce quad than any car i've tried it in, that will hit 120kph because you can straight line all the bends.
As for when the grader has been down it, its like driving on marbles.
Its actually faster to do it on the vforce quad than any car i've tried it in, that will hit 120kph because you can straight line all the bends.
I'll agree with that paws..... although I think the root of the discussion still stands, on NZ's vast majority of empty A-B roads.... 100km/h is just too damn slow and you have to decide...... do you just plod along at 105km/h and accept your fate? or do you risk it and 120/130kmh it (safely) but risk her majesty's highway tax collectors chowing down for dinner on your buttocks?
whitey said:
...100kph on a dry safe open road with good visibility and little traffic seems so slow in comparison to UK motorways speeds of an average of 85mph with heavy traffic.......
when I was last home I found it very difficult to stick to the speed limit on the open road....
cheers
Whitey
uh, mate, there is a slight difference between driving on a three-laned motorway with central reservation as opposed to NZ's single-laned state highways, which are windy in parts with rather scary dropoffs to one side.
Sure, on the 2 or 3 laned motorways around Akl, 100kays will feel slow, but around the rest of the country why would you want to drive so fast and miss all that gorgeous scenery?
If there was anything worth looking at along the sides of the motorways in the UK, then perhaps everyone would slow down and take it in!
I have no doubt that, in the UK, people, myself included, drive at 85mph+ (speed limit is 70), in order to spend as little time as possible on those miserably dismal stretches of road.
I'd give anything for a few dismal stretches of UK motorway over here! There wouldn't be anywhere near the number of road accidents if there were.
On Auckland motorways, without heavy traffic, people seem to cruise around 110-120km/h which is just about right for the conditions. Some of the single lane roads, doing 100km/h does seem fast, but some are so straight with such good visibility that 100km/h just seems ridiculous. I'm also very much in favour of speeding when overtaking as it reduces the time you are exposed to danger - but what do the police do? They deliberately sit at the end of overtaking lanes with their speed cameras - lowering the road toll - yeah right!
Personally, I'd love to see more emphasis on dangerous driving laws than speeding, as it was in the 50s and 60s in the UK. Let's face it, the main reason for a reduction in the road toll is down to car safety and improved road quality. I read an artical in a magazine the other day which listed European countries and their respective road tolls (with percentage improvements over the last year) and the UK was one of the least improved (less than 5% reduction) whilst Portugal was the most (70% I seem to remember) - why? Because Portugal has ploughed the money they've gotten from being in the Euro' union into better roads and improved driver-training. What do we do in the UK (and NZ)? Set up more and more speed cameras and divert police away from the things that really matter. New Zealand (and the UK) should take a leaf out of Portugal's books and concentrate on improving the roads and extending driver training. It would also help if they increased the minimum driving age and introduced compulsory insurance but I've already aired that view......
And before anyone makes reference to NZ not being able to afford it etc, let me remind you that there are billions of dollars, sat waiting for road improvements, all of which are continuously blocked by Maori, the Green Party and various do-gooders (including Mr Hubbard by the sound of things - nice cereals, stupid big ears).
On Auckland motorways, without heavy traffic, people seem to cruise around 110-120km/h which is just about right for the conditions. Some of the single lane roads, doing 100km/h does seem fast, but some are so straight with such good visibility that 100km/h just seems ridiculous. I'm also very much in favour of speeding when overtaking as it reduces the time you are exposed to danger - but what do the police do? They deliberately sit at the end of overtaking lanes with their speed cameras - lowering the road toll - yeah right!
Personally, I'd love to see more emphasis on dangerous driving laws than speeding, as it was in the 50s and 60s in the UK. Let's face it, the main reason for a reduction in the road toll is down to car safety and improved road quality. I read an artical in a magazine the other day which listed European countries and their respective road tolls (with percentage improvements over the last year) and the UK was one of the least improved (less than 5% reduction) whilst Portugal was the most (70% I seem to remember) - why? Because Portugal has ploughed the money they've gotten from being in the Euro' union into better roads and improved driver-training. What do we do in the UK (and NZ)? Set up more and more speed cameras and divert police away from the things that really matter. New Zealand (and the UK) should take a leaf out of Portugal's books and concentrate on improving the roads and extending driver training. It would also help if they increased the minimum driving age and introduced compulsory insurance but I've already aired that view......
And before anyone makes reference to NZ not being able to afford it etc, let me remind you that there are billions of dollars, sat waiting for road improvements, all of which are continuously blocked by Maori, the Green Party and various do-gooders (including Mr Hubbard by the sound of things - nice cereals, stupid big ears).
Ah yes, Mr Dick Hubbard, who wants to make sure that everyone feels good about things. *Puke* He's going to do that lovely liberal lefty thing which is sit down and hold hands and consult his wife, minister, and the stray cats hiding behind the church and ultimately kill anything resembling progress. By the end of his term Auckland will be be a far worse place to live in, I'm pretty convinced.
Anyone who gets elected purely on opposing other peoples' plans is doomed to fail. The 55% of Aucklanders who didnt vote deserve everything they get. Unfortunately I'm stuck in the middle of it too, dammit!
Anyone who gets elected purely on opposing other peoples' plans is doomed to fail. The 55% of Aucklanders who didnt vote deserve everything they get. Unfortunately I'm stuck in the middle of it too, dammit!
I see the general tone of postings on this site hasn't cheered up any. Perhaps we should rename this forum
(Things that piss me off about) New Zealand (sorry, Auckland).
I've just returned from a couple of months in the UK. People drive very fast over there (90-100mph seemed to be the acceptable speed between Dumfries and places north of there -M8). There are a lot of silver cars- too many for my liking. (bleat) and I"m not sure I appreciate the climate (baaaH)
I ate too many pies and now I'm looking decidedly porky. I blame the British for this.(baaaah) If they didn't make all that fatty food I would not have eaten it and turned into Mr Blobby(whinge)
Didn't see many TVrs(snivel)but did see a TVR challenge Scalextric set (vroom)and I see that the latest manifestation of that video game (GT4?) has TVRs aplenty.
)
(Things that piss me off about) New Zealand (sorry, Auckland).
I've just returned from a couple of months in the UK. People drive very fast over there (90-100mph seemed to be the acceptable speed between Dumfries and places north of there -M8). There are a lot of silver cars- too many for my liking. (bleat) and I"m not sure I appreciate the climate (baaaH)
I ate too many pies and now I'm looking decidedly porky. I blame the British for this.(baaaah) If they didn't make all that fatty food I would not have eaten it and turned into Mr Blobby(whinge)
Didn't see many TVrs(snivel)but did see a TVR challenge Scalextric set (vroom)and I see that the latest manifestation of that video game (GT4?) has TVRs aplenty.
)
I think the reason why everyone complains on here is because we represent the persecuted part of society (20-50ish white male car lovers [generally...sorry kylie :P]).
Im probably about the youngest person here but even I can remember things being better. The whole society is becoming very left wing politically correct. Despite the views of the majority
And only one person is talking the slightest amount of sense, but hes got a past that means many people wont like, and every time he has a good idea Labour steals enough of it that the uneducated mass of new zealanders continue to play follow the leader
Im probably about the youngest person here but even I can remember things being better. The whole society is becoming very left wing politically correct. Despite the views of the majority
And only one person is talking the slightest amount of sense, but hes got a past that means many people wont like, and every time he has a good idea Labour steals enough of it that the uneducated mass of new zealanders continue to play follow the leader
dejoux....... I just heard a very distinct sound..... that's the sound of you smacking the nail on the head, square with an 8oz claw hammer..... as far as I know, most PHers, certainly the ones on this NZ forum are higher-educated, professionals and as far as I know, ALL are taxpayers trying to make their way in a society that penalises them for doing just that, while giving the proceeds of that punishment to those who elect not to.... and quite frankly, after what seems like an age of this legislation and the gradual decline beginning to resemble the steep-side of Mt Cook, many of us feel that it's not right and feel that it's harder and harder to just button the lip about these things...... it's interesting to note that on more low-brow motoring forums (the boyracer ones if you will), the general consensus seems to be split more evenly between those on theleft and those on the right..... I just wish PistonHeads was a real community I could move to and be amongst like-minded individuals, self-governing....... I have no problem with the taxes I pay, but when the "citizen finance liberation agency" otherwise known ad the police decide and make public that they're more interested in patrolling passing lanes for people doing 108km/h during a passing manoeuvre than chasing down purse-snatchers and home-invaders, their employers..... who frequent these forums have really every right to be a bit miffed about the service they're getting from those that are there to serve and protect them, and that goes for ALL civil servants, not just the boys in blue.
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