Speed Limits Seen as Targets

[usernamerequired]

I don't mean I drive in a fast way like racing around. Just round my way there can be quite a few country roads and lanes and I just drive whatever I feel is appropriate.

 

[Dryce]

The speed signs I see as targets are the maximum speeds for bends on some motorway junctions - I always see how much faster than their recommendation I can do easily.

I'm not sticking a 'Like' on your post because it implies I agree they are targets.

But .....

These are usually warnings rather than limits. And the problem I have with them is that they are so conservative that people tend to ignore them. Which means that one of these signs place on the entry to bend where it is a 'real' warning then it is too likely to be ignored.

 

[rf065]

I think the real danger is those drivers who view the "arrival at destination" time on their sat-nav as a challenge to beat...

Not much of a challenge, I easily beat it every time!

 

[BTB 500]

These are usually warnings rather than limits. And the problem I have with them is that they are so conservative that people tend to ignore them.

100%

My assumption is that the advisory speeds shown on bends are 'worst case', based on high-sided vehicles like HGVs. I've never seen one that was remotely appropriate for anything I drive, including the Vito.

 

[Mickyh7]

Someone who I knew ago felt he was a racing driver just because she had a slk. I told him once that he'd not only get banned but possibly kill someone
and end up in jail when he told me about speeding down the Embankment along the river Thames.
When he eventually got a ban of only 3 months as magistrates took pitty I guess, ie he needed car for her work
as he had a certain target to complete ie assessments which were often miles apart, did she cry like....
He went of sick with depression they say and when he returned after three months - he was cocky as ever but everyone noted
he drove a lot slower - lesson learned I guess

Is she a he, or is he a she?
Strange post!

 

[sgregory124]

I'm not sticking a 'Like' on your post because it implies I agree they are targets.

But .....

These are usually warnings rather than limits. And the problem I have with them is that they are so conservative that people tend to ignore them. Which means that one of these signs place on the entry to bend where it is a 'real' warning then it is too likely to be ignored.

Agreed - the other thing is there are a huge number of inappropriate and even downright wrong bits of signage all over the roads in this country. A good example is the horizontal chevrons on ‘bad’ corners - some local authorities just put them in for sh*ts and laughs…..

 

[BIGDOG]

Is she a he, or is he a she?
Strange post!

Gender fluid.

 

[Mickyh7]

Gender fluid.

70° proof fluid more like, I think?
Certainly amusing.

 

[markjay]

Some people take pride in doing things by the book. Often inner pride, since no one else notices or cares.

And this isn't only about obeying road signs, it's also about how they operate the vehicle - even if it's a hired car, a lease vehicle, or a company van - they'll always treat it properly.

Others require supervision at all time, and be subject to corrective measures as needed because they derive zero satisfaction from doing things the right way just for the sake of it.

I would hazard a guess that most ex-squaddies fall in the former category, as well as anyone who was trained and worked in an environment where following correct procedure at all times is paramount (the aviation industry, for example).

 

[Tonygw]

Its not the speed limits that should be the targets, it should be the speed cameras..

Feel free to take aim..

 

[Pontoneer]

When I took the advanced test, I understood that I was required to drive "at" the speed limit "wherever possible" - otherwise there was a risk of failing for failing to make progress. Obviously road conditions, traffic etc impacted on the "wherever possible".

This meant that - on a clear, straight road with no hazards I drove at the speed limit, while slowing for bends, obstructions, hazards etc and accelerating again once past.

I think the real danger is those drivers who view the "arrival at destination" time on their sat-nav as a challenge to beat...

I've noticed a tendancy , mostly amongst younger drivers , to be utterly incapable of going anywhere without first setting a navigation unit up to guide their every move .

Even as passengers in my car , I have to tell them not to clip some sort of phone mount into my air vents , or messing around with my radio to try to connect their phones up . Some ask how I plan to find my way wherever and I point out that I either know the way , or am perfectly capable of following road signs , something I have managed fine to do for 50 years before sat navs .

So many now just cannot comprehend that one can get somewhere without one of these infernal devices .

 

[BIGDOG]

I've noticed a tendancy , mostly amongst younger drivers , to be utterly incapable of going anywhere without first setting a navigation unit up to guide their every move .

Even as passengers in my car , I have to tell them not to clip some sort of phone mount into my air vents , or messing around with my radio to try to connect their phones up . Some ask how I plan to find my way wherever and I point out that I either know the way , or am perfectly capable of following road signs , something I have managed fine to do for 50 years before sat navs .

So many now just cannot comprehend that one can get somewhere without one of these infernal devices .

I feel a minor irritation when I read posts like this.
Young and old people have a different outlook on life, it doesn’t automatically equate that one is better than the other.
For balance it appears to be rare that a younger person will pontificate about oldies without provocation.

Incidentally, there are other reasons to use sat nav such as rerouting due to otherwise unknown traffic issues plus speed camera warnings, even pothole and broken down vehicle alerts.

 

[Dryce]

I've noticed a tendancy , mostly amongst younger drivers , to be utterly incapable of going anywhere without first setting a navigation unit up to guide their every move .

I have the navigation pretty much on all the time. I prefer the phone's navigation to the MB system. Phone sits on my pocket and talks to the centre console via bluetooth.

(I will frequently ignore its suggestions and take my own route and let it catch up with my decisions. But generally nav has got better in the last few years)

Why?

Traffic.

I live by the orange, red, and brown lines. I like the additional warning on the route ahead about congestion (not always accurate - sometimes it goes orange/red and it is clear by the time I arrive - and sometimes the opposite).

I see it as a decision support and safety aid. There have been several occasions on motorways and roads like the A9 when I have spotted a queue on the nav screen and had advance warning of stationary or near stationary traffic ahead.

 

[Dryce]

For balance it appears to be rare that a younger person will pontificate about oldies without provocation.

Hmmmmmm........ I must know the wrong young people then.

 

[Meldrew2]

I've noticed a tendancy , mostly amongst younger drivers , to be utterly incapable of going anywhere without first setting a navigation unit up to guide their every move .

I must confess that - as a 60+ motorist (age, not speed) - I regularly use my sat-nav on all but the shortest journeys. In general, this is to benefit from traffic data, not because I need to know which way to go.

I recall travelling round the country with an AA road atlas and I had A-Z street guides of all the towns where I might have call-outs... and think technology certainly makes driving easier - as long as it is used as a guide, not as firm orders.

If I'm going somewhere new nowadays, I often take a look on Google Maps ahead of the journey, so I have a mental picture of the layout of roads at my destination - Motorways and A roads are fine left to the sat-nav, but finding specific locations in a rural area or on an industrial estate needs a bit more than just the post code.

 

[BIGDOG]

Hmmmmmm........ I must know the wrong young people then.

You must do, those that I know are very respectful.
I’m going to assume that the difference is not due to the way you and I present ourselves

 

[Dryce]

If I'm going somewhere new nowadays, I often take a look on Google Maps ahead of the journey, so I have a mental picture of the layout of roads at my destination - Motorways and A roads are fine left to the sat-nav, but finding specific locations in a rural area or on an industrial estate needs a bit more than just the post code.

I do that too. I like to have a model in my head of where I'm going.

The satellite view and also Streetview is great for identifying features around junctions and landmarks if going somewhere new. (Not perfect as it isn't always up to date - but still very useful).

 

[Dryce]

You must do, those that I know are very respectful.
I’m going to assume that the difference is not due to the way you and I present ourselves

I would say the ones I know have opinions - and lack the inhibition to withhold expressing them.

I guess it's still my fault for associating with the wrong young people.

Maybe there should some segregation rules to protect us from them, and them from us. (or maybe me from them and them from me ......)

 

[rf065]

I feel a minor irritation when I read posts like this.
Young and old people have a different outlook on life, it doesn’t automatically equate that one is better than the other.
For balance it appears to be rare that a younger person will pontificate about oldies without provocation.

Incidentally, there are other reasons to use sat nav such as rerouting due to otherwise unknown traffic issues plus speed camera warnings, even pothole and broken down vehicle alerts.

Must disagree with you and agree with Pontoneer on this.
I was in charge of a few drivers (all young) at work who apparently could not move unless the TomTom told them which way to go. I gave one an address to take some urgent fittings to the emergency team waiting on site, 20 minutes later I looked out the window and he was still sitting in the works car park. I went out and he explained the TomTom had been left switched on and the battery run flat he had plugged it back in and was waiting on the battery recharging to find out how to get there, but it was slow in accepting a charge. I have had that happen to me, so it was possible.
I told him, he knew the area well enough to get within a mile of the address, start heading there and the TomTom will have started working by the time he got near, or, get your smartphone out and look up the address on Google maps? He said, I didn't know you could do that!
I started work in an age when we had no A to Z maps books, let alone smartphones or sat navs, we headed in the direction we needed to go and if we couldn't find the address we stopped and asked someone. All the old guys when I started knew the district like the back of their hands, not only could they find most addresses without any help, they could tell you the what side of the street the gas main ran and what size it was!
Problem nowadays is young people do not need to retain any knowledge like this as they have so many other options which means they have basically stopped thinking for themselves.

 

[Fastcar155]

I can drive from the West Midlands to South London without the need of a sat nav device.