Speed Camera Warning

[John Marwood]

Why do we not have motor vehicles that readily 'cruise' under 30 mph as a standard fit

The modern motor car has developed in such a way that the smooth ride can decieve the driver into thinking he/she is travelling slowly

When I first started driving my fin tailed vehicles made such a rattle and hum that you new instinctively you were pushing 27mph

Crazy days,lazy nights

 

[Gramaisc]

If it was 34/5 then you might well survive. It usually seems to take a couple of weeks, but make a note to celebrate this time next month - if you hear nothing ( holiday time ). If you really do speed in front of the van than you stand a good chance of a ticket. Getting flashed by a fixed camera seems to hold a much lower chance of actually getting a ticket. I've been flashed six times ( never when I'm driving! ) and nothing ever turned up.

 

[staffordjas]

What happens if you are away on holiday when the fine comes through?Do you have so long to pay it?

 

[Gramaisc]

Being a law abiding citizen I am unaware of the time-scale involved. If you were in a line of cars at 34/5 you're probably safe. The cops aren't going to do everybody. Don't panic - unless you've already got nine points!

 

[henryscat]

Years ago people coming towards you used to flash to let you know of speed traps.Although I still do this (only to those doing a reasonable speed in my opinion),there are only one or two now who do it.

If others are speeding, sod them, let them get caught. Would you warn a shop lifter a detective was watching them?

I was half way up Radford Bank the other morning,doing 34-35 mph to stay in the flow of traffic

Just because other traffic is going faster than the limit doesn't mean you have to... Risking 3 points for what - to reach the back of the queue for the roundabout quicker?

 

[staffordjas]

Got no points at the moment .When I hadn't heard within a couple of days I thought I was safe,didn't realise it could be 2 weeks!
Off on my hols for a couple of weeks now,so hoping not to have a nasty suprise when I get back!

 

[John Marwood]

Perhaps if cars were fitted with radiograms playing only the harpsichord of J S Bach they wouldnt get so pumped up and dash everywhere

 

[Gramaisc]

It's true - if Yellow River by Christie was ever to be played whilst I was driving then I would have to stop, get out and breathe into a paper bag - or twelve points would be coming my way.

 

[basil]

I'd probably be coming a yellow river into the bag......

 

[shoes]

I can solve all of this with one very simple policy: ban all cars.

Thats just not living in the real world though, it would be impossible to actually get anything done if people had to rely soley on public transport.

Funny, I do rely on public transport and manage to get everything done okay...

I agree with you up to a point - what is needed is real investment in public transport to make it a viable option for everyone.

I'm sure you do manage to get everything done okay but, and please don't think this is me trying to berrate you, you're life isn't busy, and if you think it is then you should try doing my job (or the job of anyone else in a position of responsibility). I'm lucky as I'm office based primarily, however if I had to travel out to site, sometimes several sites a say as our head engineer does then public transport, no matter how good it is, would never be a viable option because there simply arn't enough hours in the day.

I think the fact we're limited and told to go so slow these days is the main cause of people being in a hurry. Its all well and good saying leave earlier, but meetings can over run for example and you still have to be at the next meeting in another town, and yet they put stupid limits, sometimes as low as 30 on roads which connect towns together. By all means slow down to 30 in the towns because the retarded human race can't seem to grasp that walking in front of a car will kill you, but when you get onto the open roads or the motorway the speed limits should be raised in order to make up time. Particularly the motorway, 70mph by today's standards is just absurd, most cars - even the cheap small korean hatchbacks - will safely sit at 100+ mph for extended peiods of time.

I do agree with you on the issue to public transport though, and I'm pretty impressed by the railways at the moment, they seem to be really getting good, although still horrendously expensive (it costs the same to get a train to liverpool as it does to FLY to edinburgh. Which, incidentally, costs more than it does to fly to portugal off peak (although in a toss up between liverpool and portugal I think i'd rather go to Liverpoorl, at least everyone isn't there due to the vouchers they collected in the sun).

Busses suck though, they always have, always will. They're slow, unfomfortable, dirty, expensive, noisy, restrictive and generally serve to reenforce the belief that you need a car.

With regard to what Furbal said, whilst you do pay a fortune to keep your car on the road you're party responsible because these short journeys you go on clog up the roads forcing the government to try and cut congestion in the only way they know how - by taxing you more. It all goes full circle.

 

[John Marwood]

are they shutting the ticket office at Stafford station? surely not

 

[Gramaisc]

As I understand it, they're closing the 'Travel Centre', which I take to be the office on the left of the ticket windows where you go for information and obscure tickets. They seem less and less interested in cluttering up trains with passengers these days.

http://www.davidkidney.com/david-kidney-seeks-clarification-from-virgin-on-travel-center-pl

 

[tek-monkey]

Shoes, we can't raise the speed limits because we still allow old cars on the road. Just because every car made nowadays has a much higher speed and much better braking does not mean all cars do, so as long as we allow older cars to be driven we can't raise the limits. Its all to the lowest common denominator.

Any government that tries to limit the age of a vehicle immediately loses my vote BTW, you can't force someone to buy a new car. Also of course my love of classic VWs enforces this.

 

[Gramaisc]

These days we kill about 3,500 people a year on the roads. In the 70s it was around 7,000. The speed limits are essentially similar. Cars have got much better and there is more enforcement of speed limits, drink-driving and seat belts. Ease off on any of these and the death rate will increase again. We currently have the lowest road death rate since records began - before the war.

 

[henryscat]

I'm sure you do manage to get everything done okay but, and please don't think this is me trying to berrate you, you're life isn't busy, and if you think it is then you should try doing my job (or the job of anyone else in a position of responsibility). I'm lucky as I'm office based primarily, however if I had to travel out to site, sometimes several sites a say as our head engineer does then public transport, no matter how good it is, would never be a viable option because there simply arn't enough hours in the day.

Although not using the car may not be viable for everyone, there's certainly a lot of short car journeys which could be made by other means without any particular inconvenience.

but when you get onto the open roads or the motorway the speed limits should be raised in order to make up time. Particularly the motorway, 70mph by today's standards is just absurd, most cars - even the cheap small korean hatchbacks - will safely sit at 100+ mph for extended peiods of time.

Got to disagree there. Time cannot be the over-riding consideration - safety is. Nobody can defeat the laws of physics that are the greater the speed everyone travels at the worse the outcome of a collision. Car driver/passenger death rates on single carriageway roads are very high. In a 60mph collision your chances of being killed are much much higher than at 50mph. If anything limits on these roads need to be lowered. Research also shows that people massively over-estimate the extra time a journey would take if they travel 10mph slower.

Higher maximum speed does not equate to higher average speed. Junctions, volume of traffic are always limiting factors. Also the higher the speed of traffic, the lower the capacity of the road, and the sooner traffic congestion occurs - which is why there are variable speed limits on M42 and M25 as at 50mph the motorway can deal with more traffic than at 70mph.

I disagree with raising the motorway speed limit. I'd accept that motorways are the safest roads in terms of accident rates though. The higher the speed on motorways, the greater the fuel consumption. Most car mileage is on motorways and dual carriageways (as you'd expect). Enforcing and/or reducing the 70mph limit would cut CO2 emissions from cars significantly.

 

[henryscat]

Top machines, when they behave themselves, which mine isn't at the moment!!

Also of course my love of classic VWs enforces this.

 

[db]

I drive to work, which I admit is a very short journey, but it saves me enough time to let me to go home for a bacon and egg sarnie at lunchtime. Why should I walk and inconvenience myself (albeit slightly) to make other people's days a bit easier? I pay a small fortune to keep my car on the road and I'd use it to put the bins out if I could.

hear hear! when i lived on weeping cross and worked at the university, i would drive to work, then drive home for lunch and back to work again, then i would drive home, then i would drive to the university gym and back again, all in the same day lol.. take that, planet!

I was half way up Radford Bank the other morning,doing 34-35 mph to stay in the flow of traffic

Just because other traffic is going faster than the limit doesn't mean you have to... Risking 3 points for what - to reach the back of the queue for the roundabout quicker?

i get the impression you don't drive, or if you do, not much.. a considerate driver will keep up with the traffic (within reason, obviously) as this makes it easier for other road users.. i hate it when i'm trying to pull out of a junction, and a break in the line of traffic (which should provide an opportunity to pull out) is marred by some buffoon pootling along at 28mph who is sitting right in the middle of the gap rather than keeping up with the traffic in front

not suggesting you are one of these buffoons btw, henryscat, i was just giving an example of why i believe one should keep up with the flow of traffic!

 

[henryscat]

i get the impression you don't drive, or if you do, not much..

Generally do 10 - 12,000 miles a year. I did 20,000 a year when I had the joy of commuting up and down the M6...!

a considerate driver will keep up with the traffic (within reason, obviously) as this makes it easier for other road users.. i hate it when i'm trying to pull out of a junction, and a break in the line of traffic (which should provide an opportunity to pull out) is marred by some buffoon pootling along at 28mph who is sitting right in the middle of the gap rather than keeping up with the traffic in front

Couple of junctions I use regularly, both in 30mph limit. One is next to a speed camera and is fairly easy to turn right out of as everyone tends to be doing bang on 30mph. The other on the same road is nowhere near a camera and is always much more difficult to turn right out of because people are speeding at around 40.

 

[John Marwood]

Keeping up with the Jones's - keeping up with traffic- .. it's all utter bowl ox

just chill -


man

 

[basil]

Fergieana said she couldna keep up with HRH Prince Andrew the Duke of York....










(donkey dick).....