Safe Speed Forums

There are rumours going around that some police forces are going to issue FPNs for having uncleared snow on Car Roofs. How does this work? What if you are parked up for an hour or so and you return to your car to find a couple of inches on your roof. Are you expected to sweep it all off with your bare hands? What about van drivers with roofs too high to reach? What about snow that has frozen hard over night?

Apparently it's because snow is blowing off car roofs and obscuring the view of cars behind....I can't say that this has ever caused me any big problems.

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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.

This might have something to do with lumps of flying snow whacking windscreens with potential closing speeds of +100mph.

Even if drivers are unaffected, cyclists and pedestrians could benefit from this.

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

This may be an urban myth

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

So you'll stop at traffic lights and a gang of car-roof-sweepers will demand money with menace to clean it ?

or not:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/permalink.php?story_fbid=179081072105045&id=198708031310

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

There was also posts on other sites where police are trying to refute this .

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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

With idiots like this on in a BBC news video, I cannot help but think it has a certain degree of desirability...


See here for the full video!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11883714

Last Christmas, a former work colleague of mine was killed by a driver who had not cleared his windscreen.
Snow on the roof often ends up slumping onto the windscreen - even frozen snow.

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

T'other day I saw a car brake at a round about and the snow on the roof ended up on the bonnet. I've often followed vehicles making their own blizzard. Muppets

I always clear as much as I can of the snow off of my roof before setting off, and I think that others should do the same, as far as is practical.
However, I would not like to see a specific law to that effect - we have far too many of those already. As soon as something is made an absolute offence, it tends to be enforced absolutely. It raises the spectre of people being fined for the snow on their roof which had collected there while they were standing at the traffic lights.
The answer to these things, as with most other things, lies in education rather than enforcement.

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

Highway code 229

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_069859

In particular I would like to point-out that TRUCKS have large flat areas, called tops of trailers, so should be avoided as if they have the plague.
The drivers would be liable in the event of a death/serious accident, no doubt !

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

That local blizzard can be quite useful in helping to keep the windscreen clear if the washer jets are frozen

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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

In my experience a greater hazard is ice falling from lorry roofs as it starts to thaw.

Spent last week enjoying the snow my last two days out were near Selby I had a small car behind me with a foot or so of snow on the roof as we approached the roundabout he's braked the snow fell forward over the windscreen and he stopped half on, half off the roundabout complete snarl up and he was very popular with the trucker behind

In terms of clearing the car I keep a soft bristle broom in the car that I use to sweep the car clear of snow - can clear the car in under 2 minutes.

I stayed in a hotel thursday night and ended up chatting with some German drivers who were amazed at the problems many drivers were having - I asked them what sort of measures they have in Germany:

Once the temp reaches 7c winter tyres are compulsory with an 80 euro fine for non compliance
Cars must be cleared of snow and ice so all windows provide clear vision and there must not be snow on the car that can fall off and cause accidents 80 euro fine for non compliance.

In addition to the legal requirements they also had light and heavy snow chains + shovels on board.

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Gordon Brown saying I got the country into it's current economic mess so I'll get us out of it is the same as Bomber Harris nipping over to Dresden and offering to repair a few windows.

Chaos, panic and disorder - my work here is done.

http://www.wildcrafts.co.uk

Huh?

"...Once the temp reaches 7c winter tyres are compulsory with an 80 euro fine for non compliance..."

How is that policed? Wouldn't that mean swapping tyres several times a day at some times of the year? Surely they'd have something like an "October to March" requirement wouldn't they?

What is legal situation with winter tyre in this country? Would using them all year round be an offence?

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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

No, so long as the tyre has legal tread and no mismatch, i.e. size difference on same axle or radial/crossply(do they still do them?) You can put any tyre on your car at any time as far as I'm aware.

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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.

Been having a look at the German and it's a little vague, the temperature and road conditions are mentioned with only specific areas having a set date to date requirement.

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Gordon Brown saying I got the country into it's current economic mess so I'll get us out of it is the same as Bomber Harris nipping over to Dresden and offering to repair a few windows.

Chaos, panic and disorder - my work here is done.

http://www.wildcrafts.co.uk

As far as I'm aware. In certain parts of Austria, you have to have snow/winter tyres fitted from about November to April (not sure of the exact months) by law but don't think it applies to people visiting those areas.

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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.

Doesn't it have to have speed rating appropriate to the top speed of the car: or just to NSL

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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

I suspect that there is a bit of confusion regarding "Winter tyres" and M&S.

Winter compound (AIUI) is a softer compound that remains flexable at low winter temperatures when "Summer" tyres would become quite stiff and hard.

This means that they will have better friction properties on all surfaces in the cold weather.

M&S has a chunkier tread that is less prone to clogging up and will "Bite" better into muddy/snowy surfaces.

Logic would expect that all "winter" tyres are also M&S rated (and vice versa) but I am not sure about this.

Using winter tyres in the summer would probabally give better performance, both wet and dry, though at the price of rather faster wear and possibly greater amounts of road noise.

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"The road to a police state is paved with public safety legislation"

Yes, a good point, although I would doubt that anyone actually checks this, unless you are involved in a serious accident.

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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.