149 MPH - 6 month ban

[Spin_bowler]

BBC News - Motorist on M25 caught driving at 149mph, study reveals

Lots of "Daves' here. Some of the non-motorway 'records' (although I'm not sure that's the right word) sound pretty scary.

 

[Smatt]

I wonder how many of these were motorbikers?

 

[Borys]

We have to love autobahns.....maybe "them"

 

[V12]

Mr Best added: "Speed limits are a limit. They are not a target to beat.

Excellent quote.

 

[p3tchy]

Most will be bikes tbh, I've seen the naughty side of 196 on my speedo and still had revs to use, (Bruntingthorpe airstrip) and can easily break the national speed limit in 1st gear.

 

[jamesfuller]

I like the bit about speeding being considered anti social. I don't really see that working out in real life, but on the forums it may be a bit different.

Dare to mention the power output of a modified car on a forum and the response is unless you can show a dyno or rolling road printout you ARE making it up and must actually drive a 50bhp Micra.
Mention doing 'maybe' 80mph ten years ago and there will be telling off's, maybe the threat of hanging and a bloke called Nigel telling you what percentage of the population you actually put in danger.

 

[6cyl]

Speed(ing) is used as a scapegoat and a stealth tax.

There are very few death and injuries caused on our roads that can be wholly attributed to excess speed, poor driving and mis-judgement is conveniently ignored. Not sure if it is ignorance or convenience that the vocal detractors of driving concentrate just on speed. It is easy to measure speed, much more difficult to quantify inadequate driving and inattentiveness.

I remember when speed was celebrated as an achievement and to be strived for. Such as shame that this has been subverted in the name of health and safety, where in reality it ranks below poor standards.

 

[E270 Owner]

Dunno why they don't have speed restriction on time of day related scale.

3-4 am most motorways are quiet they could lift it restriction to 100mph at least on certain known quiet motorways at various times perhaps.

Or an advanced driving license that allows high speeds at certain times ........

Just get fed up crawling around the UK at 70 mph when the motorways are empty

 

[Dryce]

There are very few death and injuries caused on our roads that can be wholly attributed to excess speed, poor driving and mis-judgement is conveniently ignored.

Deterrence doesn't seem to have much value when it's successful.

Speed (or rather energy) has a pretty big contribution to the outcome of an accident. We don't see as many really bad high speed accidents as we might simply because people on the whole do observe the law.

 

[6cyl]

Deterrence doesn't seem to have much value when it's successful.

Speed (or rather energy) has a pretty big contribution to the outcome of an accident. We don't see as many really bad high speed accidents as we might simply because people on the whole do observe the law.

Mr Dryce,
I agree with your last statement, there is no getting away from physics.

The majority of people drive along at 80-85mph on our motorways quite happily without maiming other people or themselves.

Deterrence ? - Yes, but it's based on false premise that the number of accidents & deaths are directly proportional and attributed to speed. Let me put it this way.

Is it more dangerous to have an inattentive driver at below the speed limit, say 25mph drive-sleeping past a school at chucking out time than one of our bretheren paying attention, driving their well-maintained E/C/SLR 63K at 125mph on a clear, dry motorway ?

There is a time and a place; the law (on speed) doesn't have the granularity to distinguish between good and poor driving. As far as I am concerned it is a blunt instrument that is not fit for purpose, ergo you have the majority not adhering to 70mph on the motorways in good conditions. Successive governments have turned the deterrence of "speeding" into a stealth tax.

 

[markjay]

...Speed (or rather energy) has a pretty big contribution to the outcome of an accident. We don't see as many really bad high speed accidents as we might simply because people on the whole do observe the law.

Indeed.

I would hazard a guess that while only a minority of accidents can be attributed purely to speed, at the same time there is only a minority of accidents where speed is NOT a factor.

Lower speed means more time for you (and the other driver) to avoid a collision, as well as less severe damage to man and machine in a collision does become unavoidable.

So quoting statistics showing that speed is only responsible for a minority of accidents is technically correct but also grossly misleading - whatever the statistics show, the fact remains that in 9 out of 10 cases slower is safer.

Now if you talk about 'speeding' instead of 'speed'... that's another misleading set of figures.

Cars involved in a crash may not have been speeding at the time, but speed is nevertheless a factor. The speed limit is just that, an upper limit, not a recommended speed. That are many roads where you can be driving below the legal speed limit for that road and yet be grossly above the safe speed for the driving conditions at the time. In such circumstances, 'speeding' will not be a factor, but 'excessive speed' will. Hence the misleading statistics for 'speeding'.

Said that... there is no such thing as 'safe' speed. The risk increases with speed, and different countries decide where they want to place the limit. 70 is not 'safe', it is just safer that 80 and not as safe as 60, that is all.

 

[stevieb15]

Speed(ing) is used as a scapegoat and a stealth tax.

There are very few death and injuries caused on our roads that can be wholly attributed to excess speed, poor driving and mis-judgement is conveniently ignored. Not sure if it is ignorance or convenience that the vocal detractors of driving concentrate just on speed. It is easy to measure speed, much more difficult to quantify inadequate driving and inattentiveness.

I remember when speed was celebrated as an achievement and to be strived for. Such as shame that this has been subverted in the name of health and safety, where in reality it ranks below poor standards.

As I was driving from Storrington to Brighton today on the A283, a 60 mph national speed limit road, a complete knob headess pulled out from the Partridge Green road and proceeded to slow down a stream of traffic travelling at about 55 mph to 30 mph, and kept it that way until Shoreham which is about 7 miles.
Thick, pig ignorant, stupid, dangerous, witless, good driver bad driver?
Give me clue, personally the thought that this individual has passed a driving test and is allowed on a motorway, to teach others, to drive at night, to drive a moped, a 7.5 tonner and a Ferrari leaves me cold.
I'm sure she causes more dangerous incidents than the most useless speeder

 

[Dryce]

Deterrence ? - Yes, but it's based on false premise that the number of accidents & deaths are directly proportional and attributed to speed. Let me put it this way.

That wasn't the point.

The issue about deterrence is that you can't simply assert that speed isn't a factor when the existing stats are in fact measuring a situation where speed is *already* suppressed.

So your premise is no better.

 

[Dryce]

The majority of people drive along at 80-85mph on our motorways quite happily without maiming other people or themselves.

Really? A majority? Are you sure?

And even for those who think they might be doing a given speed is that the actual speed is it posssibly overstated on their instrumentation.

 

[moff]

Really? A majority? Are you sure? And even for those who think they might be doing a given speed is that the actual speed is it posssibly overstated on their instrumentation.

Yes I would say that the majority of car / van drivers are doing 80-85 mid week. Clearly. It in rush hour traffic, but 70 is not the norm.

This is on the speedo of course.

 

[Dryce]

Yes I would say that the majority of car / van drivers are doing 80-85 mid week. Clearly. It in rush hour traffic, but 70 is not the norm.

So 'majority' isn't a majority but a minority.

This is on the speedo of course.

So it's likely that the majority of this minority may think they are going faster than they really are. Moreover a majority of the alleged minority who are not going at these speeds in this specific situation may also be misleading themsleves into thinking that the majority of the minority passing them are going faster than they really are.

So, in summary, I think we have a real problem here sorting out the 'stats' from the stats. Especially if we can't work out whether it's a majority, minority, or even a majority of the minority either going fast, not actually going fast, or incorrectly being observed and reported as going fast.

 

[meeeb]

"Reported Road Casualties in Great Britain, 2012


Killed 1,754
Seriously Injured 23,039
Slightly Injured 170,930
All 195,723


These figures are for road accidents in which someone was injured on a public road and which were reported to the police. Although virtually all fatal road accidents are reported to the police, it is known that many involving injury are not reported, even when some of those involved required medical or hospital treatment. It is estimated that the total number of road casualties in Great Britain is between 660,000 and 880,000 per year, with a best estimate of around 730,000. This includes an estimated 80,000 people who are seriously injured.


Common causes of these unnecessary tragedies include:


Speeding

Around 400 people a year are killed in crashes in which someone exceeds the speed limit or drives too fast for the conditions.

Careless Driving

More than 300 deaths a year involve someone being "careless, reckless or in a hurry", and a further 120 involve "aggressive driving"."


Usually a road accident involves more than one causation factor. For example one involving speeding may be combined with a poorly maintained car, e.g. the brakes aren't capable of stopping the vehicle in time, or an inattentive driver. So the police officer dealing may record the primary causation as mechanical defect rather than speeding.


Speed is also one of the major factors in fatal road accidents. The faster the vehicle is moving, the more likely a death will result if it is involved in a collision.

 

[meeeb]

Don't Try This At Home: Man Holds Map In Front Of His Face While Driving At 47mph (VIDEO)

 

[E55BOF]

" Reported Road Casualties in Great Britain, 2012

Seriously Injured 23,039
Slightly Injured 170,930
All 195,723


It is known that many involving injury are not reported, even when some of those involved required medical or hospital treatment. It is estimated that the total number of road casualties in Great Britain is between 660,000 and 880,000 per year, with a best estimate of around 730,000. This includes an estimated 80,000 people who are seriously injured.

There are lies, damned lies, and statistics, and I have insufficient information to form an opinion on into which category these data fall.

Where do these statistics come from? By whom is it 'known'? If only 23,000 out of 80,000 'serious' injuries are reported to the police, what is defined as a 'serious' injury? Why are the rest not reported?

In other words, it is estimated that more than one in every thousand of the total population of the UK is a road casualty every year. At first reaction this sounds like nonsense. Who estimates this figure, on the basis of what data? What is the definition of a 'road casualty'?

Tell all.....

 

[markjay]

... If only 23,000 out of 80,000 'serious' injuries are reported to the police, what is defined as a 'serious' injury? Why are the rest not reported?...

I am assuming that the bulk of unreported accident injuries come from those who made a personal injury claim (e.g. whiplash) in relation to an accident where police was not involved. I imagine that such cases will not be included in police statistics. And the recent proliferation in ambulance-chaser lawyers proabably saw an increase in damage-only accidents that turned into personal injury claims further down the line.

A minority might also include one-vehicle accidents where the driver was uninsured, banned, or over the limit and therefore did not call the police to the scene (assuming the injuries were not serious).