Safe Speed Forums

I was driving south on the M1 early this morning through that poxy 6 mile specs infested roadworks south of Northampton. And something very unusual happened.

I glanced in the mirror and suddenly discovered not one, not two but three cars tailgating me. Close behind me and close to one another. I had absolutely no idea how they got there - and that's unusual for me to say the least.

I've been puzzling about it since, and I reckon the knowledge of the SPECS cameras did something nasty to my 'driving process'. I'm not sure what. Did speedo checks replace mirror checks? Did the extra time spent on the speedo and looking for cameras mean that I didn't have enough time for the mirror?

To add to the complexity, I've learnt to monitor the mirror in my peripheral vision. Normally if something happens nearby behind it actually attracts my attention. How on earth did that fail? I wouldn't expect it to be within the range of something that was causing me to expend more attention on something else. (I've always seen is an an 'interrupt' rather than 'polled' for those with an electronic inclination.)

I don't think we've got to the bottom of the way that speed cameras in general and SPECS in particular affect the driving process. Thoughts?

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Could it be more fatigue related? If you've driven all the way down from Scotland without as much good quality sleep as normal then it is easy to be hypnotised by long dull motorway driving, particularly in roadworks where you'd be going more slowly than you'd feel comfortable with. Fatigue is also very common at that time of the morning and for persons of a certain age.... ahem.

Does the vehicle you were driving have cruise control?

I find specs cameras affect my driving to, a single highly visable camera flags up the need to slow down, specs force you to clock watch as at 40 on a motorway it is easy to drift up, somehow i find 40 feels wrong

I don't think so. The effects I get from tiredness are completely different. And I'd had a nap and a shower. Actually I was feeling pretty fresh at the time.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

No.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

you were looking at
A. speed limit signs
B. specs cameras
C. the speedo
D. where you were going

Somehow the mirror was low priority, I can't understand why
It happens to me too.

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Speed limit sign radio interview. TV Snap Unhappy
“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code

I feel as if it isn't so simple, although I'm not exactly sure why. Perhaps partly because 'hazards' ahead are a reason to check the mirror more.

Maybe the SPECS controlled environment is just too bland?

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Are you using resources controling the urge to drive a bit quicker, too.
I agree that the enviroment is bland , also where excessive number of cones are flashing by they are also.... transfixing/soperific... I find my self forgetting to look at the junction numbers, Is it posible that to slow down I have to slow my brain down too?

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Speed limit sign radio interview. TV Snap Unhappy
“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code

Now there's a thing.

I find that when I have to slow for a strict SPECS controlled 40 limit I get really fidgety and distracted, and I think you may have stumbled on the reason there.

I think that in free-flowing traffic you tend to set your speed so as to give your mind a steady "data processing" workload. E.g. when we encounter traffic we ease up a bit so the brain doesn't get overloaded in dealing with all the additional observation and decision making that is required.

But then when we come across a strictly enforced and extremely low limit I think the brain struggles to cope with the lack of workload just as much as it would struggle to cope with too much workload.

This is perhaps why I always seem to find myself getting distracted in this circumstance. Suddenly starved of things to do, my mind starts wandering onto things other than driving in order to try and keep the data flow constant - I start fiddling with the stereo, looking in the door pockets for sweets, striking up conversation with passengers, examining my fingernails etc.

Does anyone else find this? Was it perhaps better in the days when people might have driven through at 60 or 70 with their eyes peeled for GATSOs, instead of creeping soporifically through the whole thing at 40...?

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CSCP Latin for beginners...
Ticketo ergo sum : I scam therefore I am!

I don't know about slowing the brain down, and I don't think I get the 'hunting for something to do' effect that JT describes, but I might have some more stuff to throw in the pot.

Sometimes skilled drivers talk about 'flow' and 'rhythm'. SPECS definitely disturbs flow and rhythm. Perhaps if we understood flow and rhythm better we have more of an idea how SPECS messes with it?

It feels as if speed control replaces every other driving task.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Maybe the following drivers latched on to your tail to prevent their plates from being picked up by the first camera?
Were you in the Camper? Big target, hides much of following vehicle? If so, it might not ALL be down to YOUR driving!

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

Here's another part of the mix. In higher performance vehicles there's a very noticable gap between an 'active' and a 'passive' driving style.

In the 'active' style, you're continualy working to maximise speed and space. You might call it 'surfing the gaps'. You slow until the right moment to overtake appears then off you go again. I could demonstrate it more easily than I can describe it, but I'm sure that some of you will understand from your own experience.

By contrast, in the passive style, you just 'go with the flow'. You might choose someone to follow and stay there in the same 'relative' traffic position.

SPECS driving is the ultimate 'passive' experience. There's no opportunity to adjust speed, because you're already going far too slowly, yet the law says you can't go faster.

If you can't adjust speed, then you can't manage space either. Is that an important part of it?

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

I was dragged to the Robbie Willams concert in Milton Keynes a few weeks back, I was volunteered to be the designated driver. My route back to Portsmouth included the SPECS enforced M1 roadworks………

I started the journey fine, I was wide awake and ready to go. I made good progress until I reached the 40 limit of the M1 (past midnight, quite empty). I happened to be in lane 3 meaning I had to take the isolated/cordoned off lane, hence there were concrete barriers either side of me. The first mile of this was OK, the second seemed to drag a bit, I noticed a marked drop of my concentration during the third – this b*****d goes on for ~10 miles, honestly it seemed more like a hundred. Towards the end I was fighting to stay awake, I even had serious problems trying to remain within the speed limit, it was sooo easy to creep over even though I really didn’t want to. Every time I checked the speedo I found I had increased speed and had to slow right down again even more to bring my average back down.

Within seconds of leaving the enforced area I was wide awake again, I stayed that way all the way back down to Portsmouth.
After that experience TRL595 now makes a lot of sense!

I’m the same in meetings, I’m notorious for avoiding meetings (even mandatory ones) which upper management attend. I will lose concentration if there’s nothing stimulating being discussed, I’m even known to dose off. I will become wide awake again within seconds of someone saying something technical, a very odd sensation I can tell you!
I put this down to information underload.

exactly!

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Speed limit sign radio interview. TV Snap Unhappy
“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code

I'm like Smeggy in roadworks late at night. I had a similar experience on the M6. Serious drowsiness hit me part way into the roadworks. I was feeling fine until then. As soon as they ended and I sped up back to 70 brain felt fully awake rather than semi comatose. I do think making people stick to daft low limits for too long is a good way of magnifying fatigue. It may also have some kind of hypnotic effect. It would be something very interesting to study to find out whether there was a speed and set frequency of lights and things which did this so you could make sure on roadworks it wasn't used and another 'stay awake' kind of frequency of lights and things was used.

I've been using cruise control a lot in the m42 VSL recently and when the traffic is light (and the bl00dy things should be switched off) it's all well and good but during heavy periods cruise control is a nightmare and far more dangerous than normal control.

Could it be that the three who tailgated you had been whanging along normally, possibly even in other lanes, and you'd therefore (probably subconsciously) dismissed them (ie RTIed the interrupt after a single "affect me? no" instruction), but they'd seen you as a nice high-sider to obfuscate their front number plate from the forthcoming money box latch and jumped in close behind you in the metaphorical blink of an eye? I'm ashamed to admit having once or twice pulled that stunt, typically on artics, when they had these eveil contraptions up for a few weeks on a road I use.

cars do stack up in specs sections tho..... if you start to catch or pass a car at any rate you have to question who's being least cautious or who's got the best speedo. so perhaps people just don't bother risking it... if you catch someone just sneak in behind and let them make the speed decision.



if you were only minitoring with peripheral vision and expecting any action to catch your eye.. perhaps a car sneaking up with a very small differential speed isn't enough action.

I notice more of an Ed m-ish type of situation through SPECS cameras.

I get extremely uncomfortable very quickly as I am invariable forced to drive in very close proximity to over vehicles (usually in all lanes). I feel boxed in and get stressed as I flit between making sure the vehicle beside me isn't in my lane and that I'm not drifting over the speed limit.

I'd go so far as to say I pannick a little, which is not something I've ever been aware of before.



I also notice that regardless how I was driving prior to the SPECS camera zone, upon passing the last camera my driving becomes fairly aggressive (3rd gear acceleration up to 80odd) just to get away from all the other vehicles I've been boxed in by for the previous stretch.

In otherwords, I find driving within a SPECS controlled zone a very claustrophobic experience.

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