Safe Speed Forums

There is no point in even trying to explain anything any more to TSM - he is an ignorant, tunnel-visioned, simple minded moron. Not for his opinions - everyone is entitled to their own, but simply because he is incapable of backing them up or producing a rational and balanced argument. Lots of members have tried to encourage sensible debate with him. But it's obvious that all he is here to do now is to wind everyone up for his own personal amusement and contribute nothing to the road safety debate - an ignorant twat of the worst kind.

I say everyone here from now on should totally ignore any comments he makes and not give him the satisfaction (unless by some miracle he wakes up and posts something sensible).

(And I acknowledge I'm assuming TSM is male before anyone comments )

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Why can't we just use Common Sense?

www.rhythmthieves.co.uk. Currently being reconstructed but there's still plenty to look at! What do you play? I play (with varying degrees of success) guitar, banjo, mandolin, ukulele, cuatro and...hmm, maybe it's only five instruments.

the basic argument then is that by knowing and adeharing to the speed limit I lose all concentration and hazard perception and so am more dangerous on the road.

BUT there are posts on the site where people are admitting to 20-30mph over the limit, thats not even in the ball park that you describe, this example is a total refusal to comply with the law.

Anybody that does not agree with the "were capable of setting our own limits" thesis is a twat whereas the people that whine about reciving nips are hard done to.

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Why not put on speed limiters we have the technology only idiots break the speed limit

Hang on a minute! didn't you just tell us you, Mr "the sensible majority" had received an NIP? Clearly you refused to comply with the law.

Clearly, by your own standards and logic you are a "twat"

Yes I had a nip once and by guile and brainpower they could not turn it into a conviction, (now whos the twat-a twat with a clean driving licence and full NCB)

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Why not put on speed limiters we have the technology only idiots break the speed limit

Given you feel it necessary to mention your no claims bonus, someting unrelated to an NIP, does this mean you crashed while speeding?

If so, you are a menace to us all.

TSM

I’ve read all your posts with interest and I can see how you are winding up the existing members, this is not unusual because people such as yourself tends to hit on some of the more tender arguments, which is a good thing and helps keep the “argument” fluid and correct.

I see that you are interested in to the reasons why people can not seem to “stick to the limit”. A question I am also interested in seeing an answer to, especially as someone who does tend to ignore the limit on the majority of my drives.

The question in my mind and the one that caused me to support this site is this; Does the adherence to and the strict enforcement of speed limits improve road safety?

I’m not sure, but I’m fairly sure it does not, what do you think? I am genuinely interested in your answer.

Cheers

Paul

But you must have broken the law to receive an NIP.
Not very you that is it?

You are exaggerating our words. However, strict adherence to a limit which is set inappropriately can indeed impact negatively on hazard perception and driver behaviour, directly and indirectly. I have already spelled out why, now it’s up to you to counter with a decent logical response (as opposed to ‘oh no he’s not’)

Besides, you miss the point everyone here is making, there are far better ways of achieving road safety rather than focussing on just on one (arguably small) aspect of it, especially if it’s at the detriment of other more important factors.


It IS well in the ball park previously described; over 100mph on a motorway can be as safe as 60 is dangerous.

If the law is being misapplied at the refusal of the real sensible majority, in the name of safety while doing nothing of the sort, then that law is an ass.

TSM.

A serious question for you. What would you do if your speedo suddenly stopped working? Would you immediately pull over, stop and call the RAC or would you continue your journey?

There've been times out on the bike where I've lost speedo completely, either due to the cable becoming detached or the backlight failing. I didn't die (obviously), I didn't crash and I didn't get nicked and you know why? Because I'm an experienced enough rider to be able to judge my speed to within about 5mph without any means of speed measurement. I actually agree with Rythm Thief about being able to maintain a constant speed by maintaining constant engine pitch, but then I'm fairly musical too.

I would suggest you try a little experiment by driving somewhere without looking at your speedo, but I believe that in your case it may well be an extremely dangerous thing to do.

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

TSM - I used to save a lot of time and money driving faster than the speed limit a few years back.

Every Friday night I would leave Lincolnshire and head for the south west corner of Wales. It was a 300 mile journey, and the start time was dictated by close of play of my RAF training, which was totally inflexible, naturally.

If I could get past Nottingham and onto the M42 before the Friday Night rush I'd save myself about an hour and about £8 of fuel.

Similarly, getting past Birmingham and onto the M5 in good time avoided similar delays.

M50 and onto the A449 was a similar deal, by reaching Newport before the M4 got silly, although it was usually quite busy by then (usually around 8pm by this point). I found it much less tiring and usually cheaper just to keep in L3 until past Cardiff when the M4 the traffic thinned out enough to make travelling in L1 possible.

The whole journey would take about 4hrs sitting around 85-90mph, yet on the few occassions where I stuck to the 70mph limit it would take me around 6hrs, arriving in Wales at 11pm, and having to refuel on the way.


So, TSM, with regards to temp speed limits etc, yes I think they're a good idea. The M42 was in pieces for the last 2 months of my travelling. The limit was 40mph but due to volume of traffic, and not wanting to cause an obstruction I'd do the same 50mph as everyone else. The problem with temp speed limits is that they're often left on, or over zealous with the limit reduction "FOG AHEAD - MAX SPEED 30MPH" when there was a slight drizzle for eaxmple.

This renders the temp limits meaningless and they are thus largely ignored.

So in answer to your original question. When travelling long distances, adhering to speed limits caused harm by increasing fuel consumption (pollution) due to being unable to pass trouble spots before congestion occurred. The increase in money wasted, and great increase in time spent sat behind the wheel caused significant increases in my fatigue as a driver.

I found going fast theraputic. I was making good progress. Distances on signposts got smaller at a less painful rate. I wasn't concerned with other traffic around me for any length of time because I was passing the majority of it. I would arrive 2 hrs earlier and would be sat watching TV, finishing up dinner before I would have been within 100 miles otherwise.

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Whilst I am sure that you are here purely to try and wind the members of this forum up, I sincerely hope that you can just try and take a step backwards and try and open your mind up a bit and look at the bigger picture. To answer your question - I believe the point of this site is about road safety. What harm is caused by driving safely? Why do you believe that 40mph is more dangerous than 30mph? Others far more eloquent than myself have actually answered all your questions - you just seem to refuse to question your own beliefs.

If you are not deliberately trolling, then I would still urge you to stay on this forum - and try to THINK about what is being said here, and not just keep dismissing things...

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Pecunia Prius Equitas et Salus

You were given sensible answers, which you chose to ignore.
OK, try this for size - if you always pay due care and attention, and are always fully aware of hazards and drive accordingly, then the only accidents you're likely to have would be down to being in the wrong place at the wrong time - just like being struck by lightning.
And the more time you spend out in the open, the greater your chance of being struck by lightning. Think about that.

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

so my best bet is to drive everywhere as fast as possible, maybe even 85mph in a 30 limit as it is sometimes safe for short bursts

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Why not put on speed limiters we have the technology only idiots break the speed limit

If it's safe to do, then you're probably safer - although you won't if you value your licence.

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

If you dont feel youself capable of driving safely without a functional speedometer!

You shouldnt be driving at all!

D

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

No. Your best bet would be to drive everywhere as safely as possible.

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Pecunia Prius Equitas et Salus

isn't it illegal to drive without one???

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Why not put on speed limiters we have the technology only idiots break the speed limit

Define 'without one'. How do you know for sure that your speedo never under-reads at any time? Has any owner had their speedo (of their private vehicle) checked for compliance - ever?

Nope. It isn't. At least not always. If it breaks, you are permitted to drive so long as you get it repaired as soon as practicable.

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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