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Old 08-Mar-2009, 12:28
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swannymere swannymere is offline
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Road deaths

It's being reported in some of the sunday papers that the national speed limit on single-carriageway country roads is to drop from 60 to 50mph in the belief that this will reduce road deaths. Whilst this is a noble idea, should we strive to achieve 0 road deaths or accept that it's an impossible task and for want of a better phrase 'settle on a compromise' figure? Should the majority of drivers in this country (20+ million as a guess) have to endure this ridiculously low limit to save 500-ish lives. I know that most motorcyclists would be aware that lack of concentration rather than speed is the major factor in road accidents despite what the goverment may say, am i being stupid, selfish and heartless or realistic?
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Old 08-Mar-2009, 15:25
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I for one would agree on your comments,there are some very uninteligent people sitting behind the wheel of there car and no amount of speed control on our roads will make them any safer. When you watch some thing like "Britains worst driver " on the TV it beggars believe that we all have a laugh at these "special" people.Just how many are "Out there" we will never know. Maybe we should have a IQ test before we are allowed to hold a licence to be able to kill some one . Most of the accidents we hear about on here are caused not by the rider but by the little of lady doing the U turn or the numskull not looking or planning ahead and so makes a right turn in front of you. Stupidity and inexperiance will allways be a facture in statistics when it comes to road accidents but if people imitate the likes a pheasant or partridge and just "Go for it " its inevitable what will eventually happen and no amount of speed or lack of it will make much differant. As all ways the good must endear to the bad and will all ways pay the price. We have had "limits" ever since the first motor car appeared on the road,thankfully the man with the red flag has long gone (or has he) Most people use the road sensibly and with a certain feeling of Survival and those with a death wish soldier on,thats life. So why does the goverment not take as much interest in saving all the smokers from a certain death that is just as life threatning as any "speedster" or may be thats just not PC to infringe on some ones personel liberty. Smoking Kill 100X more that Speeding ever did but we have been saying that for years to no effect. I say to hell with it and let people kill themselves I dont think a little round sign with a 50 on it will make much differance,just like the one on the M1 saying 70. 4D
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Old 08-Mar-2009, 16:21
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Bionicle Bionicle is offline
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They had it right back in 1958, its gone downhill since then

The first motorway opened in Britain was the M6 (M=Motorway). It was known as the Preston Bypass. It was opened in 1958.

When it was planned, the Preston Bypass was seen as the first piece of a large network. It was deemed a success and led to the construction of a second motorway, the M1, opened in 1959.


There was no speed limit
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Old 08-Mar-2009, 18:00
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Fordie, the deaths on country roads are not really about little old ladies doing U turns but more about inexperienced youngsters in cars and middle aged bikers going faster than their own capabilities should allow.
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Old 08-Mar-2009, 19:20
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Fordie Fordie is offline
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Ariel, Ive seen it all Especially on track days ????? So what comes first Experiance ---- Age = Age ---- Experiance Commonsense sits some where in the middle I hope. The whole reason we ride bikes is for the Thrill take away that and get out the pipe and slippers. Do you really think we can stop the young boyracers or the middle aged biker from harming themselves because of there own in-experiance. Like most thinks in life the more you do the better you become, dont try and be the hero 1st time out, all ways run at your own pace. Pace kills not distance, both experiance and age has taught me that. Have we not all been the boyracer at some stage in our lives ? Its only when the 8hit hits the fan and you experiance that dreaded feeling that you did some thing stupid and were lucky to get away with it that it sinks in. Its very rare to have a next time, I don't really have an answer apart from training and riding with experianced people but not everone has that privilage. It will soon be silly season and all those people waiting for the better weather to arrive will be out there,sharing the roads with the experianced and the knobheads and the boyracers. I no it you no it Its down to us, the road user at the end of the day. So ride safe thats all you can do. 4D
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Old 08-Mar-2009, 21:28
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DSC Member Jools Jools is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ariel
Fordie, the deaths on country roads are not really about little old ladies doing U turns but more about inexperienced youngsters in cars and middle aged bikers going faster than their own capabilities should allow.

Imposing a speed limit that is 10 mph less than it currently stands is just going to bolster up the road minister's credibility with the harumphing classes that frequent the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail. It is pure headline grabbing propaganda from a ministry that has bugger all else to do except try to make headlines with peurile gesture politics.

Imagine the discussion around the Ministers desk (you can almost see Jim Hacker sitting there fro 'Yes, Minister')

Hacker: Can we do anything about persistent drunk drivers...they're causing a lot of accidents even though they're a tiny minority

Sir Humphrey: No, I'm afraid we can't minister, the Chief Constables don't have the resources and the Home Office won't budge because they can't get the funding now that the Treasury has bailed out the imbeciles that run the banks.

Hacker: Well surely we can catch the people who've just smoked a bung of skunk? They're a minority but they do cause a lot of accidents.

Sir Humphrey: Well, I'm afraid not minister there are no reliable tests available for all the drugs that people are doing before they drive and on top of that we have the same resource shortages as catching the drunks.

Hacker: But what about the people who are phoning and texting each other whilst driving?

Sir Humphrey: Well I'm afraid we delegated the responsibility for catching nearly every traffic offence to 'safety cameras' a long while ago minister and we can't turn the clock back now

Hacker: So what are we going to do to show the Daily Mail that we're actually doing something for the tax payer's money?

Sir Humphrey: Might I suggest that we impose blanket restrictions on the law abiding majority sir? After all they'll be the last to complain now won't they?


Frankly, lowering speed limits further is not going to save any lives because by definition the boy racers and the middle aged born again biker are ignoring the existing speed limit anyway, it just gives 'outraged of Tunbridge Wells' another excuse to Harumph over their G & T when the Daily Mail reports that the deceased was doing 40 mph over the speed limit instead of the 30 mph that they could claim now.

In fact I would argue that some of the speed restrictions will actually be counterproductive (just like the ludicrous 40mph speed limits in open countryside that exist purely because they link villages that are 2-3 miles apart) because they will take the actual speed limit down below the 85th percentile (http://www.safespeed.org.uk/speedlimits.html) and cause crashes through boredom, inattention and a false sense of security


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Old 08-Mar-2009, 23:16
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Indeed Jools, it ain't Rocket Science we might as well all go back to the days of Horse and Cart and even then some silly barstard will fall of one of those and end up a statistic. 4D
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Old 09-Mar-2009, 10:13
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You are so right. Reducing the speed limits to these ridiculously low levels will contribute nothing towards road safety. In fact, the frustrations caused will probably increase road deaths rather than reduce them.
The only people who will derive satisfaction from all this will be the bicycle clip brigade and the sandal wearing, carbon footprint obsessed Guardianista.
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Old 09-Mar-2009, 10:39
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Steve GD Steve GD is offline
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Jools and others have hit the nail on the head...this is about gesture politics, allied to the commitment all govts have made to reduce traffic deaths. (Btw, more bang per governmental buck if you can reduce the number of most-at-risk road users by preventing them from getting a license at all by reducing the number of test centres available).
And what is it which is fuelling this lemming-like rush to slow down?? One slogan. The big lie. The jackpot. El Gordo.

Speed Kills

If this were true, of course, we'd all be dead, as we are hurtling around the sun at squillions of mph, but it is short enough that even a Mail reader's wife can remember it when hubby accelerates too hard on the shopping run.
But, "Relative speed kills" requires actual thought, and introduces the possibility that other factors may be in play. And it does not suit the purposes of those on the wilder shores of ecomentalism.
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Old 09-Mar-2009, 10:53
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve GD
Speed Kills

If this were true, of course, we'd all be dead, as we are hurtling around the sun at squillions of mph, but it is short enough that even a Mail reader's wife can remember it when hubby accelerates too hard on the shopping run.
But, "Relative speed kills" requires actual thought, and introduces the possibility that other factors may be in play. And it does not suit the purposes of those on the wilder shores of ecomentalism.

the phrase is 'inapropriate speed kills'.....its about being unconciously incompetent.
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