Safe Speed Forums

I think you need to find someone other than your mother to talk to about driving.

Yep, think that's why I tried to find another place, and SafeSpeed seems to me to be the way I think, vaguely anyway...

So - Note to other new and younger drivers... Your parents aren't always right when it comes to driving... Except for guys on here... Most of them are good drivers to look up to . No, really, I don't mean to put parents down, they often do a lot for us, but it may be useful to take some of their driving hints with a pinch of salt... Often they'll have bad habits, and it can be good to break from these... Although their driving may be good...

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Mike

Why? Unless fuel/running costs are verging on the prohibitive for your vehicle.

Unless you drive a tank (literally) with fuel consumption measured in gallons per mile why bother - it's a couple of quid a tank difference.

I have a petrol 2.5 V6 with a combined mpg of 27.5. I can eke it out to a frugel 29 if I'm careful, or kill it to 19 if I'm daft and go for a 'drive'. But 'normal' driving which includes some flippin' quick acceleration upto cruising speed barely makes a dent in the overall consumption as RELATIVELY so little time is spent with the foot welded to the floor. It's so negligible the 32mpg at 60 'v' the 28 at 70mph that I don't really care.

Just checked out the new driver law in NI - Sure enough all new drivers and learner drivers are restricted to 45mph within one year of qualifying.

What a silly idea - just another pooly thought out law thats likely to increase crashes rather than reduce them. Surely the whole point of being a learner is learning to drive safely, which includes being able to drive at appropriate speeds on the road. Driving at 45 on a high quality SC or DC is likely to put you at risk of bieng rear-ended by an old man not paying attention; or a victim of other motorists impatience. Plus, driving at 45mph everywere, you are unlikely to get exposure to real-world driving. When I learned to drive I was encouraged to drive at the speed limit, if it was safe to do so. I consider this essential to my accident free driving record I have today - my ability to percieve hazards at speed.

Mikes1988, you have my full sympathy.

I'm worried about the effect on the rate of acquisition of experience. See: http://www.safespeed.org.uk/problem2.html

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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

That is my worst fear... Especially at night... Even people that are paying a reasonable amount of attention are going to be a risk to R drivers... I think more because when they're driving along they won't necessarily be thinking some 'idiot' is going to be doing 45mph ahead of them...

The truth be told, the police generally won't stop you for doing 60mph on the motorway or a dual carriageway... They are fairly decent guys... But on the other hand, I'd rather not get penalty points that I don't need, my insurance is expensive enough as it is, I'd rather not make it any more expensive... Even still, I came across a fellow R driver on Monday on my way home along a dual carriageway, and she was sitting between 40 and 45, I sat behind her for a while because I thought maybe she was just getting wound up to going a bit faster, and I don't like venturing into lane 2 unless it is absolutely necessary, but eventually I gave up and overtook her, as I tend to 'cruise' about 55mph indicated, which, according to GPS is about 50... So if you then take into consideration 10% + 2 or so, you are just on the upper limit, and in my opinion, reducing the risk of getting rear-ended...

Oh well, thats now 6 months up today... Only 6 months left to go

I think, as an idea, it probably works okay, force younger, less experienced drivers to go slower, but, in reality it doesn't work properly... Must say I haven't really heard of one being tail ended, but I don't see the point in having to go slowly, to the point where it's dangerous...

Another bad thing I have noticed is... I sometimes catch up with non-restricted drivers on the motorway... What in the name of goodness are they doing, sitting on a motorway at 40mph without a reason... Just press the accelerator slightly more and you might go a bit faster...

I think having compulsory R plates, as a sign that you are a new driver might be an idea, but I think speed limitations are a bad idea... And, anyway, the majority of restricted drivers exceed their limit on the motorway, yet the majority of accidents involving restricted drivers happens on narrow country roads and such, when they are driving far too quickly...

It's also really bad in the fact that you spend more time watching the speedo, because I would say if I was driving in traffic that was moving at a reasonable pace, I would probably just keep up with the traffic, and probably not look at the speedo anywhere near as much... But I can't because all traffic is moving faster than I'm allowed...

Eek, rambled again, sorry... I'm just trying to let you all know a bit more about what it's like, as most of you probably don't have any experience of this, except HGV drivers, who are subject to similar limitations...

Edit: I don't know if this could be an idea, but I could bring it up on one of the local talk shows... Although, knowing the way the assembly is(nt) going at the moment, nothing will be done for a long time...

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Mike

Sorry all for any alarm caused! I should have stated that when I do this it's invariably when the approaching vehicle is at very least 600 yards away. Certainly wouldn't dream of presenting myself in front of a driver in way way that would cause alarm

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I really hope they would not introduce such a ridiculous 45mph speed limit for newly qualified drivers here.

I can just imagine the carnage; new driver joins M1 at 45mph! There would be fatalities for sure.

Point taken,

I admit I overstretched myself a bit when I bought the thing from a running costs point of view. I drive about 34 miles a day to work and back.

Getting that extra 4mpg over an 11 gallon tank equates to approx 44 miles per tank. That's more than a drive to work and back.

I use about one tank a week if I'm gentle-ish with it, whereas if I get lead footed (which I sometimes do ) then I have 5 tanks of fuel coming out of my monthly wages. My wife gets through a similar amount of fuel a month too.

Unfortunately the car is thirstier than I really need, but is worth so little (typical Ford ) that it would be a false economy to trade it in for another car that's cheaper to run but I need to pay off. I wouldn't be interested in buying any old shite for what the Cougar would fetch if I were to sell it, so I'd end up paying much more than the fuel saving in repayments instead. Driving it gently for most of the time I can make the best of a (self inflicted) bad situation.

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I take on board ReWolf's point fully.

The missus and I regularly drive around in a 41 year old car, although she (the MG ) is more comfortable at 60mph in an overdrive 4th than at 40mph in actual 4th if you see what I mean....

But there are no excuses for drivers such as (experienced today on the A442 between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth) the Nissan Almera driver or the Skoda Fabia driver insistently driving at 40mph in NSL areas when traffic, road, and weather conditions amply accept 60mph. Whlist overtaking both, my passenger saw no kids or potted plants in either.

As an aside, the A518 between Newport and Stafford on which I commute lacks the "geography" to execute safe overtakes and - as such - I am rarely able to achieve the speed limit where it is safe to do so. Purely down to (thanks to basingwerk for this one) "driving slobs" who are too lazy to adjust their speed either above or below 45mph

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Safe yet Swift.

Yes I know that stretch well. Do you really think that lazy is the right word to use to describe the people who plod steadily along that road?

I'm open to alternatives..........

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Safe yet Swift.

Just has scary thought - I know that stretch well too - have we reached the point on such roads where the "45ers" now form the 85th percentile? If so, are those of us who wish to reach the limit where "safe" to do so are now the dangerous loonies?

The prevalent mode of driving nowadays is the “lunge and lurch”
technique. Lunge and lurchers unnecessarily blast off as fast as they can
then lurch on the brakes suddenly.

But there are lots of reasons for driving very gently. Some drivers have
small children or even babies in the car – you don’t want to wake them up
just because there’s a lazy or impatient bonehead behind who has set out
too late.

Other drivers have stuff like laptop computers, musical instruments or
trays of eggs on the back seat, while some passengers get motion
sickness if they are driven too fast. Other people are just not in a hurry at
all, so tough shit if you’re behind, basically.

Another reason is fuel economy – using the peddles too much is a good
way to burn up fuel – it is just as effective to spill it on the floor and set
light to it once you have finished your journey. Lunging and lurching
causes unnecessary wear on the car, especially the brakes and tyres –
you can get a lot more miles out of a jalopy if it has been driven by a
gentle driver, rather than a lunger. If you can get a decent jalopy, it’s
worth driving it very gently to avoid expensive repairs at MOT time.
Basically, you can drive 10 times cheaper than the lungers/lurchers, who
also wreck their cars more frequently due to mistimings and collisions.

In general, it’s best to set out a bit earlier and drive very gently, avoiding
any ostentatious lunging and lurching – it just pisses everybody off and
increases the call for more cameras.

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I stole this .sig

No. Lazy is the right word for people who have stayed in bed too long and would get to work late unless they break the speed limit.

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I stole this .sig

How does a ballerina drive?

In my last car, a 206 GTi, I would usually average 30 ish mpg on the combined cycle. With a light right foot I could stretch to 4 days commuting on a single tank, about 40mpg. On the day I moved house I had a puncture and had to use the pram wheel - maximum speed 50mph / 80km/h, I averaged 50 mpg for that journey. 50 mpg - that's diesel territory! It was a VERY difficult drive though, not one I'd want for every day motoring.

My new car, a 1.9 TDI Passat, is averaging 50mpg based on the trip computer, motorway journeys I usually get 60 mpg. Which is nice.

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COAST Not just somewhere to keep a beach.

A young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law.

Wow! A post from Basingwork that I pretty much agree with, and I expect that most other here will also agree with too - smooth driving and coast go hand in hand, as the key to successfully achieving smooth driving is the ability to anticipate and take the necessary actions well in advance. However I expect that it misses the key deficiency in the drivers that tend to just stick to a single speed at all times, and that they often do not drive with any consideration for others, including the concept that others may want or need to go faster than they do, and they consequently do not leave space for others to work with - that simple 2 second gap would be nice when they are following behind a truck for example...

Smooth driving is very good for fuel efficiency, and it can make a dramatic difference, not just 1 or 2 mpg. I have only once tried for serious economy - as opposed to smooth driving which I do 90% of the time; it is possible to be fast, smooth and safe. That once was during the fuel protests when I was forced to drive to a customer site with no guaranteed open petrol stations, and I managed 56mpg in a 2.5L V6 by sticking to 55mph and a very, very smooth style. I was also very bored for large sections of the drive, and it is not something that I would want to attempt if I was slightly tired as the monotony is incredible.

yes and it's not because of sick children or some other ridiculous reason - as already said earlier in the thread they wouldn't be driving through 30mph limits at 40-50mph if this were the case.

I agree.
those drivers following COAST, but keeping to 45-50mph (for whatever valid reason) where 60 is safe and legal will generally make an effort to let other drivers past with minimal fuss; the LAZY drivers would probably not even notice that others drivers are behind them, never mind realize that they want to get past.

I've kind of gathered that that is the spirit of dog-in-the-manger ill-will that emanates from most slow, obstructive drivers.

I really don't mind people driving slowly, and wouldn't dream of wanting them to go faster than they felt capable of doing, but a little understanding that I may want to pass and continue at my chosen speed would be nice.