Safe Speed Forums

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

Then perhaps you need to review your own cognitive abilities. We were talking about the reasonableness (or lack thereof) of speed limits for given roads.


Looks like we'll have to repeat ourselves again!
Answer: unreasonable regulations that foster frustration and encourage unpredictable behaviour - the "inconsistent & confusing 'messages'" we are talking about.
But alas, for some people, the number in a roundel is all that matters, regardless of how unreasonable it is!

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Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

When they reduce the speed to the 'average' of a road than consider the 'true' 85th percentile, they skew and throw away all the thorough research that has been carried out for decades, that gave us the safest roads in the World. Why do that ?
We know that the safest drivers are around the 85th - 90th percentile areas, so isn't making the motorist safer the aim?
When is it ever right to drive at an inappropriate speed, perhaps 10mph at 'school leaving time' for example.
We need motorists to assess & judge correctly, then manage the risk well and appropriately - as much as is humanly possible.
So what if you took your bike to Richmond Park - would you go over the 20mph limit? How might you know if you don't have a cycle computer ?
Were you 'dangerous' if you strayed over that posted limit? Are those that are doing so, 'dangerous' or 'just' illegal?

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Safe Speed for Intelligent Road Safety through proper research, experience & guidance.

If all roads are the same and not dangerous, then why do we need differing speed limits on them?

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

So you are saying that speed limits are a 'vote winner'. Something that is popular with the majority of people. Now, there are a lot of complaints on these forums that the government doesn't pay attention to what the majority wants....

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

But they’re not asking what the majority wants and they’re not asking people who really know what is and isn't dangerous

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

I don’t think so.
There is a gulf of difference between disguising something that otherwise would have lost votes, and openly promoting something that wins votes.

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Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

Because some people would drive dangerously fast otherwise?

A road ain't dangerous until somebody drives dangerously on it surely?

Is a tightrope across a canyon dangerous before somebody starts walking on it?

Is a gun dangerous before somebody starts waving it around?

I could equally say, "how exactly can a 500ft cliff be dangerous? It's a piece of rock that stands there doing nothing."

But I won't, because, unlike you, I'm not trying to be argumentative for the sake of it.

You know exactly what I meant.

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Only when ideology, prejudice and dogma are set aside does the truth emerge - Kepler

No, it's a sign that tells people what the maximum speed limit is. They are then supposed to adjust their driving accordingly.

No, that's not what I'm saying at all. I'm saying that other measures they could employ - like the ones you mentioned - are likely to be vote-losers.

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Only when ideology, prejudice and dogma are set aside does the truth emerge - Kepler

Oh, do come off it!. This started out by discussing a road that had its limit dropped from 40 to 30. Are you suggesting that 40 has suddenly become a 'dangerously fast speed' on the road in question?

Tell me who's more dangerous - an alert driver driving at 40mph, or a driver doing 20mph with their eyes closed?

Answers on the back of a £50 note, please.

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Only when ideology, prejudice and dogma are set aside does the truth emerge - Kepler

And what factors could cause that dangerous driving:

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Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

So what speed is "dangerously fast"? And what is "driving dangerously" on one road that isn't "driving dangerously" on another?

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

So is it safe to drive at the speed the sign says then?

Oh, I'm sure that you'll find more than a few people of the weepy one's mindset belting down single-track country lanes at 59mph, simply because the speed limit is 60 so it must be safe

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Only when ideology, prejudice and dogma are set aside does the truth emerge - Kepler

On the road outside -it's -but then - just down the road ,mr PLONKER has parked his P & J , opposite Mrs Pratt's kiddemobile - so there could be kiddies about -so now don't look such a good idea , looks even better - or perhaps -and that's just a run down my street n a QUIET day . But hey - there's a bike -no such reluctance for him - but ,as he's on a bike ,he won't hit any kids.

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

But the problem is that a lot of people don't adjust their driving accordingly. They stick dead to the speed limit,(Because that's what they think is safe) eyes fixed on the speedo
and if they do go over the limit, on go the brakes again and again.
As someone said a speed limit is an arbitrary and unscientific number on a pole, you can not die going over that number, you can die if you drive dangerously
and this can happen at any speed.
On my trip into work which is about 45mins away I go through 14 different speed limit changes. Some I can understand others I can't.

When I learnt to drive there were two main speed limits ,30MPH and 70MPH. You rarely saw any others.

You learnt that 30MPH meant a built up area and you had to look out for peds, animals etc and you also learnt that 70MPH wasn't a safe speed to stick to everywhere else, all of the time.

In other words, you LEARNT TO READ THE ROAD AND DRIVE ACCORDINGLY.

What do modern road speed limits tell inexperienced drivers?

It would appear to tell them to stick to the limit shown, DON'T think for yourself and that's why Britain is no longer one of the safest countries in Europe for motoring.

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

No! The day that sign has an active screen and changes to take account of the weather, the prevailing circumstances and my alertness - it is just a sign that sits there doing nothing.

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.