85mph and a 12-month ban??!!
Discussion
Since all governments seem so obsessed with speed on motorways and dual carriage ways(who has ever seen a speed camera outside a school or sheltered housing),why dont they stop mincing around and just make it compulsary for all cars to have a 70mph limiter so that their control freak tendencies can have full reign-in fact why don't they fit us with 24 hour moniters so they know were we are at all times(you know-just in case).How about making any engine over 1.1 illegal???? What is their F****** problem!!!!!????
( And I say TRAP cause the damn camera was hidden Behind the unmarked Police car )
No wonder there's no British car industry left with all the NUMPTIES who have come and gone over the years in the in the corridors of power.I can see a growth in track days-but since these seem to be noise limited already perhaps in time they might enforce speed limits too!!
Formula One on milk floats anyone?
Surely the only way to address this must be comparison with other countries. Do many more people get hurt on German motorways than do on UK ones? There must be statistics around clearly showing the real effect of speed on the number of accidents. I may be totally wrong but I do not think that many more people (on a per million basis or so) die on German roads then do in speed-limited countries. I'm not saying all speed limits should be abolished - obviously in-town limits are sensible - but I do not think there have been unbiased and fair comparisons. Same thing goes for e.g. driving tests - do less people get hurt in countries with stricter tests (Ted)?
For those of you in the pharma business, a comparative, retrospective trial is what we need. Surely someone can figure out from all available statistics what is the relation. No more of these authority/green folks driven demagogic statements (or, from the other side, no more diametrically opposed ABD-speak as well). Only hard facts and statistics, please.
Trouble is, no-one is taking any notice of the hard facts. There seems little doubt to anyone who's paying any attention, that the Government's figures of speed being a major factor in n% of accidents has been misproved. Yet it makes no difference, as every keeps quoting these ludicrous figures.
The public is being brainwashed with false figures and it's working.
How about every motor vehicle is controlled by means of a transponder to the prevailing speed limits. These limits could be routinely monitored and changed to, for example, limit vehicles to 10mph around schools from 30 mins before the children arrive/leave to 30 mins after the cildren arrive/leave. It could also be used around roadwork/dangerous roads to limit speed in bad weather conditions. I'm sure most of us would accept this IF (<-- big if) the government also used the system to RAISE limits when it is safe to do so: i.e. 30mph outside schools on evenings and weekends; 80/85mph on empty motorways at 2am.
But then that would raise two issues:
1) from where would the government recoup it's lost revenue?
2) would the manufacturer of a vehicle be liable for correct/accurate calibration of said speed control unit and for any fine incurred from incorrect setting?
Just come back from a couple of days in France, and found the whole driving experience so much nicer there.
Things that worked: reasonable limit in the dry (130kmh/82mph) coupled with a lower wet limit. Much better stopping distances left (for the most part). Waaaaay better lane discipline (true of Belgium/Germany too).
Traffic was flowing faster, but in a more relaxed fashion, if that makes sense, But when I got off the Chunnel onto the M20, it felt like the world had gone totally loopy by comparison.
So: yeah, the focus on speed seems all wrong, or at least an "easy fix."
Oh... the Indiana Jones roller coaster at Disneyflap Paris now goes backwards. Recommended. I think... Just don't eat lunch before going on it!
quote:
Surely the only way to address this must be comparison with other countries. Do many more people get hurt on German motorways than do on UK ones? I'm not a statistician but they tell me that the german autobahns are the safest roads in the world with the least accidents/mile. I drive LONG hours and have much more problems with sleep and tiredness on belgian motorways where I can drive - yawn - 130 km/h (approx. 80mph) than in Germany where I can drive as fast as I like. Speed itself does not kill. Wrong speed at wrong place does. 10mph can be too fast on a road where toddlers are playing. Rgds., WalterU
quote:The lane discipline in UK drives me wild. What I really really hate are the idiots who drive in the middle lane at 70-75 on a TOTALLY EMPTY motorway. In France you can safely do 100 mph on a dry road wihthout running into serious problems with french plod. Rgds, WalterU
Things that worked: reasonable limit in the dry (130kmh/82mph) coupled with a lower wet limit. Much better stopping distances left (for the most part). Waaaaay better lane discipline (true of Belgium/Germany too). Traffic was flowing faster, but in a more relaxed fashion, if that makes sense, But when I got off the Chunnel onto the M20, it felt like the world had gone totally loopy by comparison.
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