20mph speed limits

[Daniel]

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/16/20mph_speed_cam_big_bruv_disguised_as_nanny_state/

*sigh* I fail to side with the people who go on about the nanny state but people like this deserve to die in an unfortunate shower rail incident. You can only make things so safe and then the cost to society gets too high. Don't they know this?

[Drew]

My car doesn't like sticking to 20mph at all...

[Iain]

:rolleyes: When will the people in charge realise that speed doesn't always kill, it's careless driving that does.

[Daniel]

:rolleyes: When will the people in charge realise that speed doesn't always kill, it's careless driving that does.
Exactly Iain. Lower (practical) speeds are great but there comes a point where you don't save any lives, you piss people off and people are going so slow while driving that they become more careless in the end. I think excessively low speed limits on good roads are a bad thing and probably result in less careful driving and they most certainly increase the difference in speeds that people do which is a bad thing.

[martinbalmer]

going so slow while driving that they become more careless in the end.

I'm not aware of a scientific study but I do feel that when people drive slow they do not always give it the attention and concentration it deserves.

It is so much easier not to pay attention to the road or divert attention to radios, phones, passengers, hair, makeup, wiping the windscreen or anything else.

That's not to say that abiding by a 20mph (or even a 30mph) speed limit is an excuse for not paying attention, any more than saying you concentrate better when driving fast is a valid defence for speeding.

For some roads 20mph is just fine and a sensible maximum that no responsible driver would want to top anyway.

For other roads, in built-up or urban areas, a 20mph limit may only serve to lessen the damage or injury resulting from an accident, assuming that a drivers reaction time does not increase when driving slower. As to whether such a lower limit would reduce the accident rate is, in my opinion, debatable. It could actually increase it.

With slower moving cars, impatient children and adults alike could well be tempted to step out into the road to cross ahead of approaching traffic. Vehicles at that speed might be quieter and risk not being noticed. And as mentioned, there may be lower levels of concentration among drivers.

We all want safer roads.

I think that the problem comes down to the fact that some people are unable to drive responsibly or appropriately for the road and situation on hand.

It's about time drivers were picked up on more then just their speed. You don't need to be on the road long to see examples of bad driving including incorrect or no use of indicators, poor lane discipline, driving too close, failure to stop at red lights (even for pedestrian crossings!), ignoring pedestrians waiting at zebra crossings, failing to look properly, pulling out late in front of other vehicles at junctions, stopping in yellow boxes, illegally parking causing congestion or obscuring the view at junctions.. The list goes on.

[Daniel]

Thing is if you're on the road for longer i'd suspect you're more likely to have an accident ;)

[BeansBeansBeans]

Thing is if you're on the road for longer i'd suspect you're more likely to have an accident

You'll love this Daniel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsfzQIAvRco

[KILOHMUNNS]

You'll love this Daniel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsfzQIAvRco

lol :rotflmao:

Why don't we all go back to having someone walking in front of the car with a red flag! We could either solve the unemployment crisis or put the lobbyists in front and then run them over!! :D

[Daniel]

You'll love this Daniel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsfzQIAvRco
Seen it :p

My point is that even with sharing the driving you could get tired with driving for 3 or 4 hours. If it's safe for someone to do the drive in 3 to 4 hours then don't make them stay on the road any longer by lowering speedlimits even further. Someone who's tired after 3-4 hours is going to be even more tired after 3.5 or 4.5 hours. That's not to say lets double the speed limits and let everyone get there in half the time. Just saying lets not make problems of fatigue any worse than they already are. I remember when I used to work till 8pm at night at my current company in a boring role and it was winter. I was never at risk of falling asleep but I was happy that I could do 60/70 (legally) most of the way home and make the drive home as painless as possible.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

You'll love this Daniel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsfzQIAvRco

I can imagine Top Gear doing a feature like that :p

[Daniel]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/18/20mph_wifi_cam_spies_remove_humping_needs/

We'll take away the speed humps but lumber you with blanket inforcement of the stupidly low 20mph speed limits.

[BDunnell]

Why don't we all go back to having someone walking in front of the car with a red flag!

There was a very funny little sketch on the first series of That Mitchell and Webb Sound on Radio 4 in which someone bemoans of that very task, 'I thought I had a job for life.'