National Speed Limit Petition, Sign in here, Closing date 9th September

[ChrisUK]

They already do if you are in the south east during a water shortage! If it's brown and yellow and all that...

Nah they only tell you when to flush

 

[Garree001]

Don't you believe that for a second! Subliminal messages and all that - oooh, there is no water... I'll wait off on that crap until I can have two! OK that truely is disgusting :bang:

 

[Chas Uno]

and speed limits in America are mostly (if not all?) 55mph.

The blanket 55mph speed limit in the USA was dropped decades ago. Speed limits vary from state to state - for instance here in California (where I am now) the limits are 65 - 70mph on the Interstates whereas in Arizona they're 75mph. Florida was 70mph if I recall correctly - I was there two weeks ago as well blasting up and down the Turnpike between Fort Lauderdale and Orlando

As for vacuum gauges, my 1986 Uno 45S came with one as standard except it was disguised as an 'econometer'. On one long trip back to London from Manchester (at night) I drove with it in the green zone as much as possible and was rewarded with 62mpg! I was doing less than 60mph most of the way though...

 

[sludgeguts]

My coupes happiest at 80mph+ so I'll carry on doing it while safe to do so weither they lower the national speed limit or not. F***ing nanny state they'll tell me how and when to have a s***e next.

I've often wondered how a driver can decide what a safe speed is for a prarticular stretch of road?

If you adopt the posted limit, that's been decided through a number of factors & sometimes posted limits can be reduced for safety reasons - most people are unaware of much of the reasoning behind changes.
Although the road surface looks good, the weather is fgood, forward vision is good, there are many other factors to take into account & the main one for me is the state of a lot of vehicles on the road. Dodgy CV boots chucking grease out, dripping oil and not to mention the oft seen trails of fuel from overfilled tanks or split pipes. All unseen dangers that can turn the surface into a skating rink.

The reason why it is becoming a nanny state is because in the past, people were given freedom - but with freedom comes responsibility. Even with a clearly defined set of rules of the road, I still see many motorists ignoring them. Would we need speed cameras if people didn't break the limits?

 

[ChrisUK]

I'd say I know pretty well now. Nearly 6 years and 160,000 miles and not so much as a bump.

I know the limits of me and my vehicle and dont exceed them.

 

[maddogmorg]

aren't most cars cooling systems meant to start to work properly at 30mph, the air flowing over the radiator and all that?

wonder what it's like for air cooled cars...

 

[sludgeguts]

I'd say I know pretty well now. Nearly 6 years and 160,000 miles and not so much as a bump.

I know the limits of me and my vehicle and dont exceed them.

But that's just two factors out of hundreds.
I've got best part of 40 years experience, millions of miles and not so much as a parking ticket - but it only takes one moron to pull out at the last second - even when you expect someone to pull out.
Had one today, trotting along in slow-ish traffic, doing a steady 30 in the queue, left a huge gap in front to save the brakes etc. Saw a car waiting to pullout of a side road so I flashed my lights & waved my arm across the screen indicating that I was happy to let them out & they waited until I was right on top of them before they pulled out. As the safety zone had passed I decided they didn't want out so began the slow accelleration - but had to slam on the brakes to prevent a collision.

I always drive as though the rest of the drivers are idiots (and most of them are), it's kept me safe for many a year.

 

[sludgeguts]

The blanket 55mph speed limit in the USA was dropped decades ago.

Ahh, I see. I didn't realise.

 

[jug]

there are only 3000 deaths per year. i wonder what is the "acceptable" death rate?

i'm sure there are better ways to spend money than trying to drop the 3000 figure to 2000 or even 1000. if you consider how many people are using the roads, 3000 deaths per year is great.

To put it into perspective: "Figures from the National Osteoporosis Society show that around one in five (18%) people die within three months of fracturing a hip, accounting for around 14,000 deaths per year in the UK."

Amazingly, fracturing your hip is nearly 5 times more likely to kill you than driving your car. All of a sudden the kinky stuff seems more dangerous.

 

[Munkul]

could you not find a statistic more relevant to fit healthy people in the 17-60 year old bracket?

 

[Garree001]

could you not find a statistic more relevant to fit healthy people in the 17-60 year old bracket?

How about 1/10 18-25 year olds having an alcohol dependancy? :devil:

 

[ChrisUK]

Natural Selection tbh. Even if Car's are man made we are made by nature .

 

[MikeSalt]

To be fair, if they do implement the limit, I want a partial refund on my Road Fund Licence. If I buy a second class stamp, it is cheaper than a first class stamp because the service is slower. A 50 MPH limit will make the road service slower, so I expect to pay less.

 

[ChrisUK]

To be fair, if they do implement the limit, I want a partial refund on my Road Fund Licence. If I buy a second class stamp, it is cheaper than a first class stamp because the service is slower. A 50 MPH limit will make the road service slower, so I expect to pay less.

:yeahthat: :worship:

 

[sludgeguts]

To be fair, if they do implement the limit, I want a partial refund on my Road Fund Licence. If I buy a second class stamp, it is cheaper than a first class stamp because the service is slower. A 50 MPH limit will make the road service slower, so I expect to pay less.

Actually, that's not quite true.
What makes the roads slower is tailgating or not leaving sufficient room.
It only takes one driver to give the slightest touch on the brake pedal to put the lights on. With the domino effect, we have stationary traffic half a dozen cars back. Within seconds, this becomes a huge tailback.
How many times have you sat bumper to bumper in long queues only to think "WTF was that about?" as the traffic clears? - I saw this northbound M5 the other month, 3 queues, all caused by police pulling cars onto the hard shoulder, everyone else was rubbernecking. To make things worse, rubberneckers on the southbound also caused huge tailbacks.
If everybody left sufficient room, there'd be no need for panic braking & everyone would get there quicker.

This even applies to local roads. Round here, everything is limited to 30 so in my bus I pootle round at 30 and I often get cars desperate to overtake & drive much faster - but when they do, they end up joining the long queue further down the road. A couple of minutes later, I've almost caught up with them but I don't have to stop as the traffic starts to flow. They all race off & sit in another queue.

 

[ChrisUK]

I'm sorry but thats just hilarous.

 

[Ffoxy]

Actually, that's not quite true.
What makes the roads slower is tailgating or not leaving sufficient room.
It only takes one driver to give the slightest touch on the brake pedal to put the lights on. With the domino effect, we have stationary traffic half a dozen cars back. Within seconds, this becomes a huge tailback.
How many times have you sat bumper to bumper in long queues only to think "WTF was that about?" as the traffic clears? - I saw this northbound M5 the other month, 3 queues, all caused by police pulling cars onto the hard shoulder, everyone else was rubbernecking. To make things worse, rubberneckers on the southbound also caused huge tailbacks.
If everybody left sufficient room, there'd be no need for panic braking & everyone would get there quicker.

This even applies to local roads. Round here, everything is limited to 30 so in my bus I pootle round at 30 and I often get cars desperate to overtake & drive much faster - but when they do, they end up joining the long queue further down the road. A couple of minutes later, I've almost caught up with them but I don't have to stop as the traffic starts to flow. They all race off & sit in another queue.

There is foundation in this... I read it once in a book called "The tortoise & the hare..."

 

[sludgeguts]

I'm sorry but thats just hilarous.

That's because you haven't been taught by a proper instructor.

Over the years, millions of pounds has been spent (in many countries) researching traffic patterns and movement.
Any decent driving tutor shouldn't just be sitting there telling you to keep your speed down etc, they should also be telling you the reasons why.

But then I see a lot of learners on the roads & I realise most driving schools employ chimps to teach people - as long as you've had a full licence for 3 years (according to one advert) - hardly makes you an expert on the road does it?

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

That's because you haven't been taught by a proper instructor.

Over the years, millions of pounds has been spent (in many countries) researching traffic patterns and movement.
Any decent driving tutor shouldn't just be sitting there telling you to keep your speed down etc, they should also be telling you the reasons why.

But then I see a lot of learners on the roads & I realise most driving schools employ chimps to teach people - as long as you've had a full licence for 3 years (according to one advert) - hardly makes you an expert on the road does it?

And you see instructors teaching people when it p'eeing down with rain and they haven't even made the student put their headlight on

 

[Chas Uno]

And you see instructors teaching people when it p'eeing down with rain and they haven't even made the student put their headlight on

Rain during the daytime doesn't automatically require the use of headlights though.