Antiquated Motorway Speeds.

[padi56]

Lets take a look at what the motor industry has given us, well alright, sold us over the last four decades, and for once, they have done us proud!
Sometimes you wonder why though...

If you go back to 1965, the national speed limits were introduced and the infamous 70mph Motorway limit was applied.
In this year, we enjoyed watching the diminutive Mini Cooper win the Monte Carlo rally not for the first, nor last time, and Austins venerable 1800 'Land Crab was declared Car of the Year.
Most cars ran on Crossply tyres which could be melted down and made into Teflon for Frying pans. And the only car with Anti-lock brakes would have been the Jensen Interceptor FF, which was built to order at an enormous price. (Owners had to turn the engine off while refuelling as the bugger would consume four-star petrol faster than the pump could supply it...)

An E type Jag was considered the fastest thing you would have a chance of seeing, and although Browns Lane, boasted 150mph, the poor Jag owner would have more chance of receiving a hand-job from Marylin Monroe than surpassing a real 140 MPH...

Although seat belts and Laminated windscreens were available, they were rarer than tap-dancing Dodo Birds, and many pre-'65 cars still retained unassisted drum brakes all round, and had no safety related kit at all.To get things into perspective, things like reversing or fog lamps were an option for £3.

Whooshing back to 2006 now, an average boy racer hatchback will p!ss all over a 'Works' Cooper S, and whats more it has Air bags, Dual circuit power assisted discs, seat-belts with pre-tensioner, Side impact protection, Laminated screen, Safety cell, Halogen headlamps, ABS brakes and a plethora of high technology stuff driven by a computer more powerful than that which drives the Space Shuttle,on the moon mission.
Even ten year old cars probably have most of this stuff, whereas in 1965, when the speed limits were introduced, the average ten year old car was a fEKED piece of memorabilia with rod operated brakes and split screens.

Enough drivel....

So when was the last time you saw a speed limit RAISED!

It's a bloody travesty. An average car would have won races back in the 60's, and will cruise happily at around 100mph all day long, yet despite all the advances in road technology in addition to this, all we are ever seeing is LOWER speed limits.

Whats more, if you DID have a prang in a Morris Oxford, never mind the not having seat belts, there was a three foot long steering column. Designed to impale you before your unrestrained head crashed through the toughened screen. Whereas the worst injury possible in a Mondeo today at 40mph would be a few airbag burns and the word DROF stamped into your forehead for a few days.

Whats the bloody point. Cars are getting more and more boring to drive within the speed present limits, and so the average motorist is FORCED into breaking the speed limits imposed by a succession of useless governments. Or die of boredom driving his 150mph German Superior car at well under half it's potential at best.

This is a bit like being allowed to sleep with Dolly Parton, and being told NOT to touch her t!ts.

Either the manufacturers are going to have to stop offering Dolly's frontal attributes, or the miserable bleeding speed limits are going to have to be raised by a realistic amount.Not only has car technology advanced at such a rate, that had, aviation technology kept up, we'd be holidaying on Mars by now. The national speed limit was introduced by a woman who never held a driving licence in her life, and who bloody hated the motor industry.

Then all we have to do is teach the Elephant Jockeys in inferior cars from hogging the middle lane...

[JJ Irani]

Good post, Padi. If you remember, I had started up a thread a long time ago on the other forum - "Speed Kills - Fact or Fiction". Perhaps I could start that up again, based on your excellent post, and see the reactions of our TRF members.

JJ

[padi56]

Yes agree that speed does kill,but it has been proved by upping M/Ways speeds to 80mph would decrease the tailbacks,accidents.And modern cars are a lot safer that they were 30 year's ago.

[Gedanken]

What I'd love to see is a MINIMUM speed limit. I'm tired of wankers tooling in the right lane at 20 under the limit.

The province of Quebec has minimum speeds posted, and believe it or not, some people drive THAT slow (60km/hr). I think this is a HUGE risk cuz the max posted limit is 100km/hr. So imagine coming over a hill doing the limit when you are suddenly staring at the ever growing tail lights of some schmuck doing 60?? If you hit him, it's YOUR fault.

Speed limits need to be increased to keep up with automotive technology. But a bigger issue is driver training. All you need is to be 16 and have a pulse to get a licence in Canada. They do have graduated licensing, but it's got to be tougher with better training. That'll cost us all less in the longrun, in terms of health care, prison, courts and policing.

Originally Posted by Atomic

The province of Quebec has minimum speeds posted, and believe it or not, some people drive THAT slow (60km/hr). I think this is a HUGE risk cuz the max posted limit is 100km/hr. So imagine coming over a hill doing the limit when you are suddenly staring at the ever growing tail lights of some schmuck doing 60?? If you hit him, it's YOUR fault.

Speed limits need to be increased to keep up with automotive technology. But a bigger issue is driver training. All you need is to be 16 and have a pulse to get a licence in Canada. They do have graduated licensing, but it's got to be tougher with better training. That'll cost us all less in the longrun, in terms of health care, prison, courts and policing.

I agree with tougher standards for getting a license, and I also think that everyone should have a driving test every 5 years.........how much sense does it make to get your license at 16, and not have to ever prove your skills again until you hit a very old age (not sure when the tests for old people start, but I think it's 80 years old in Ontario). I see many people who are way older than 16 who have NO CLUE how to drive.....

I agree with the regular testing. I just had to renew my license. All they want from me is $75 and to take a current photo of me. They don't care about my skills. I'd happily pay $150 to include an on-road test plus written exam if everyone had to do it ever five years. The roads would be so much safer.

BTW, after I got my pic taken, I realized they took the pic while I was wearing my ball-cap. WTF? Is that allowed? We'll find out in 4-6 weeks when the new license arrives in the mail.

Oh and BTW, speed does kill... but only at the hands of an inexperienced driver. If everyone is well trained and MOVING... incidents become almost non-existant (however far more catastrophic when they DO happen).

[Earl]

Over here James, we have the same thing only it's in the left (hammer) lane with signs posted stating slower traffic stay to the right and left lane passing only. Needless to say, the right (granny/slow) lane travels along normally faster than the left (hammer) lane; what I can not understand is how a lane dedicated to being the faster lane on the highway is in reality the slower lane with people (as you say James "tooling in the (right) lane at 20 under the limit" with no exits or entrance lanes/ramps in sight!

The law here states if your entering the highway (interstate) that the traffic headed in the direction your headed must allow you to Marge thus you enter the flow of traffic at speed. So here's the normal here; your sitting in line at a stop waiting for the cars up ahead to Marge into the traffic so you can do the same. I have seen a State Trooper pull a car from the normal lanes who refused to allow a vehicle to merge which causes terrible backups on the access entry ramp to the highway. HOV or commuter lanes here have a posted speed limit of 65MPH while the normal lanes are 55MPH, the HOV lanes are really moving along at 75-80MPH and the normal lanes are at about 65-75MPH. I believe the minimum speed is 45MPH on the normal lanes but, just wait until it rains or snows... we are talking bumper to bumper start / stop traffic with no obstructions or fast lanes in sight.

[Launch Mini]

What gets me is the "New Drivers", usually males, buying the 5.0 litre mustangs dirt cheap, then killing themselves because they have too much power, no experience & crappy handling cars.

Originally Posted by Launch Mini

What gets me is the "New Drivers", usually males, buying the 5.0 litre mustangs dirt cheap, then killing themselves because they have too much power, no experience & crappy handling cars.

That's just natural selection happening at high speed.

[Gedanken]

Originally Posted by Launch Mini

What gets me is the "New Drivers", usually males, buying the 5.0 litre mustangs dirt cheap, then killing themselves because they have too much power, no experience & crappy handling cars.

Hmm, over here they have limits on what P-platers (with less than 3 years' driving experience) can drive - I think it's according to power-weight ratio. I'm not sure if the Mustang fits in the "too powerful for its weight" category, but it probably does.

[Launch Mini]

True, I guess it's a variation on " We need more chlorine in the gene pool"
to " There is more chlorine in the car pool"

[Gedanken]

Damn, Earl, I wish we had your kind of laws here in Oz. As it is, we don't even have clearance to make a left turn at a red light when the traffic's clear.

[G Shearing]

In BC here we have a max of 110K (66MPH).
Ever driven in Germany? I have memories of doing 90mph and like a flash a Maserati passed me in the fast lane of the Autobahn doing 150mph!
I can't remember what France has on their Autoroutes. Is it the same as Germany: no limit? or has it all changed?
I have a Ford Police Interceptor with the 440 engine. One more ticket and I could get a suspension. I tried this one time I got stopped for speeding. : "Sorry officer, but I can't help it, it is an ex cop car!!!" First time it got me a warning but not the second time. No sense of humour!!!!

[padi56]

Originally Posted by G Shearing

In BC here we have a max of 110K (66MPH).
Ever driven in Germany? I have memories of doing 90mph and like a flash a Maserati passed me in the fast lane of the Autobahn doing 150mph!
I can't remember what France has on their Autoroutes. Is it the same as Germany: no limit? or has it all changed?
I have a Ford Police Interceptor with the 440 engine. One more ticket and I could get a suspension. I tried this one time I got stopped for speeding. : "Sorry officer, but I can't help it, it is an ex cop car!!!" First time it got me a warning but not the second time. No sense of humour!!!!

Thats a great story will have to remember that.Once on a return from Egypt rang home to tell wife landed OK,she told me my mother had been
rushed into hospital.Well from Gatwick back to Wales my average speeds around 120mph on motorways,mind you this is 2am in morning.I was 5 miles from my home and was stopped by a police patrol car.For doing 45mph in a 40mph zone,this is still the early hour of morning.I explained about my mother
and they let me get on my way.They already had my address and all my car details, on the computer screen in car.

I think we all know the story of how and why I missed the birth of my daughter... yes I was speeding but the bastard plonk was a prick.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by G Shearing

In BC here we have a max of 110K (66MPH).
Ever driven in Germany? I have memories of doing 90mph and like a flash a Maserati passed me in the fast lane of the Autobahn doing 150mph!
I can't remember what France has on their Autoroutes. Is it the same as Germany: no limit? or has it all changed?
I have a Ford Police Interceptor with the 440 engine. One more ticket and I could get a suspension. I tried this one time I got stopped for speeding. : "Sorry officer, but I can't help it, it is an ex cop car!!!" First time it got me a warning but not the second time. No sense of humour!!!!

Agree If speed kills, why the fek do the Germans(possibly one of the most safety conscious races on the Earth) have no speed limits on their Autobahns??? Perhaps because most drive a superior German car ??

Originally Posted by padi56

Agree If speed kills, why the fek do the Germans(possibly one of the most safety conscious races on the Earth) have no speed limits on their Autobahns??? Perhaps because most drive a superior German car ??

That's why I drive a superior German car!

[Goodwatch]

I’m too lazy to convert to miles (and you’re to lazy to finally adopt the metric system, except my Canadian friends) but about 10 years ago the speed limit on some Dutch highways was raised from 100 to 120 km per hour. Now it’s being lowered to 80 around major cities because of air pollution. My country is far to small to have long stretches of highway that could sustain high speeds. But: we are also a country with one of the lowest car accident related deaths per 1000 inhabitants in the world.

Now that whole speed limit affair has turned into a cash cow. Even the DA was ‘surprised’ by the number of speeding tickets. Yeah, sure.

A couple of years ago I had the (almost orgasmic) pleasure to drive a Ferrari on the Zandvoort circuit (a company outing). This is something I will never forget the rest of my life. The way that car responded to the pedal was something I had never thought possible. And the sound! After my 3 rounds I was high and wanted more. Alas, the next one got into the car. Dang.

[Gedanken]

Well, as if things weren't bad enough, looks like someone went and done caught a case of the stoopids:

Pace drivers for motorway

Road chiefs are recruiting "pace" drivers to make sure motorists stick to speed limits.

The trial scheme will see volunteers employed to keep a steady speed of 70mph or less in the third lane of the motorway.

More than 30 motorists have already applied to be Community Pace Drivers in Doncaster, Yorks.

The town's metropolitan borough council claims accidents which occur at lower speeds result in less severe injuries.

However it has come under fire from road safety gear suppliers Speedsafe, who have branded the scheme foolhardy and incompetent.

Speedsafe spokesman Paul Smith said: "Imagine the chaos caused by a pace car at 70mph in lane three of a motorway."

"This level of incompetence is breathtaking - safety depends on drivers adjusting speed to the environment."

[Goodwatch]

Originally Posted by Gedanken

Well, as if things weren't bad enough, looks like someone went and done caught a case of the stoopids:

Whaaaaaaat? (I'm trying to picture the kind of people who would volunteer to this. Anoraks for sure). I say all governments have the same hypocritical tendencies. Why don’t they ban all cars with engines over 80 BHP? And make speed limiters mandatory? That would end the whole problem. No, they want to cash in on the fuel tax and speed tickets, the b@stards. Just like with the taxes on alcohol and tobacco. It’s sooooooo bad for your health but it remains legal. Why? Because of the money!

[Gedanken]

Well, the premier in my state, Steve "My Neck Is As Thick As My Head" Bracks, suggested last year that all speedometer markings above 130 km/h should be painted over, so drivers don't get tempted to speed. It's scary that this inbred moron's running the state.

Originally Posted by Gedanken

Well, the premier in my state, Steve "My Neck Is As Thick As My Head" Bracks, suggested last year that all speedometer markings above 130 km/h should be painted over, so drivers don't get tempted to speed. It's scary that this inbred moron's running the state.

In the early 80's I recall that all speedometers here topped out at 140 km/hr, which I believe was mandated for the same kind of reason. It was eventually abandoned as it did nothing to slow people down........

[Gedanken]

Originally Posted by Avalon

In the early 80's I recall that all speedometers here topped out at 140 km/hr, which I believe was mandated for the same kind of reason. It was eventually abandoned as it did nothing to slow people down........

I heard they tried that in texas, and the Texans, in typical style, developed a new sport out of it: they challenged each other to see how many times they could get the needle to go round the clock.

Funny how stupid ideas keep resurfacing, eh?

Originally Posted by Avalon

In the early 80's I recall that all speedometers here topped out at 140 km/hr, which I believe was mandated for the same kind of reason. It was eventually abandoned as it did nothing to slow people down........

I had a job in university working for a printing company as an apprentice printer and delivery driver. The van I drove was a full-size GMC, brand new with the stupid 140km/hr speedo. Anyways, I remember looking for a certain exit in the west end of Toronto. Since I wasn't familiar with the extreme west end, I relied on my boss' instructions... 'just keep going west on the 401 until you see the exit'.

Turns out this street didn't have highway access and I didn't realize this until I started to see signs for Guelph (a town west of TO).

So I turned around and to make up lost time, I floored it... I actually wrapped the needle around to the peg at Zero/km/hr and it was bouncing up and down on it... I must have been doing over 200km/hr.

[mailman]

Originally Posted by Atomic

I had a job in university working for a printing company as an apprentice printer and delivery driver. The van I drove was a full-size GMC, brand new with the stupid 140km/hr speedo. Anyways, I remember looking for a certain exit in the west end of Toronto. Since I wasn't familiar with the extreme west end, I relied on my boss' instructions... 'just keep going west on the 401 until you see the exit'.

Turns out this street didn't have highway access and I didn't realize this until I started to see signs for Guelph (a town west of TO).

So I turned around and to make up lost time, I floored it... I actually wrapped the needle around to the peg at Zero/km/hr and it was bouncing up and down on it... I must have been doing over 200km/hr.

[Launch Mini]

We heard rumours that our local insurance company was considering black boxes for cars.
The deal was, you install the black box, it monitored your driving and in return you would receive lower premiums.
Yeah right, until your in an accident and there's proof in your car that at some point you actually exceeded the posted limit.
No Big Brother in my car.
I'm sure they can tell by our cell phones how fast we're driving anyway.

Originally Posted by Launch Mini

We heard rumours that our local insurance company was considering black boxes for cars.
The deal was, you install the black box, it monitored your driving and in return you would receive lower premiums.
Yeah right, until your in an accident and there's proof in your car that at some point you actually exceeded the posted limit.
No Big Brother in my car.
I'm sure they can tell by our cell phones how fast we're driving anyway.

I hate to tell you this, but most new cars are already fitted with black boxes from the manufacturer, called Event Data Recorders (EDR's). Almost all cars with airbags will have a black box that records data when there is an accident, and can show details about the speed of the car, if the breaks were applied, if the occupants were wearing a seatbelt, etc. for the few seconds just before any crash. Not the same thing you are talking about, but if you get in an accident the data can be pulled from the box and used in court to get a conviction. Big Brother is watching......

[Gedanken]

Originally Posted by Avalon

I hate to tell you this, but most new cars are already fitted with black boxes from the manufacturer, called Event Data Recorders (EDR's). Almost all cars with airbags will have a black box that records data when there is an accident, and can show details about the speed of the car, if the breaks were applied, if the occupants were wearing a seatbelt, etc. for the few seconds just before any crash. Not the same thing you are talking about, but if you get in an accident the data can be pulled from the box and used in court to get a conviction. Big Brother is watching......

Damn - and the prosecutors have legal access to this data?!