tree Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 persoanlly i didnt believe 130 accidents in 3 years was that bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sideways Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 As someone involved in motorsport I do enjoy driving fast , bit of a waste of time entering the international rally and driving at 30mph! I also do enjoy driving fast occasionally on the open roads ,but always with the thought of safety first. I personally don’t think speed limits really make the great difference some people believe, yes a speed limit will give the sensible driver notice that the particular area requires extra vigilance due to school, built up area, or a concealed entrance ect but the idiots that the speed limits are there for, will drive to fast for the conditions whether there is a sign there or not. The question is how often do they get caught before there is a tradgedy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cret Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 Not only that but there are plenty of drivers out there I've noticed who seem to be a complete menace because they are ignorant and oblivious to the presence of others on the road. You know the sort I mean. They find a speed they're comfortable at and stick to it regardless of anything. From my experience of them it usually seems to be 40mph. You'll get stuck behind them on a long derestricted road and think "this person should get done for being inconsiderate to everyone else but they must be some sort of nervous/overcautious driver. Not much I can do." You want to overtake the inconsiderate sods but sod's law says it's normally not safe to so you have to just trundle along behind them and watch as the tailback accumulates. Then they reach a 30 zone and they amaze you by continuing at 40mph. There seems to be tons of them like that and they're a menace as I really don't think they have any awareness of anything outside their windscreen. What you might term a "cocoon driver" perhaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 1. Hell, I even get overtaken in Sulby village whilst adhering to the limit !!A few months ago I was over taken on the 30 mile section in Sulby (direction Ramsey). I enjoyed an almost overwhelming sense of joy as I saw the Policeman step out into the road by the turning to St Judes. 2. I've noticed that very few people on the island seem to flash other drivers to warn of speed traps ahead. Where as this seems to be a common politeness in many places. And no bad thing IMO - since I don't believe that the purpose of the speed trap is to actually catch people. Just to slow everyone down. Apparently, in the old days, the AA men used to always salute cars with AA badges. If they didn't salute then it meant watch out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 Yeah, that's fair enough if people want to speed they will. But my view is by not having an upper limit the Government may be seen as condoning it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puddy Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 Cret, you have successfully described one of my pet-hate driver types.... the 40 mph brigade. They hold me up on the mountain driving at 40mph and then they speed through Ramsey or Douglas also at 40mph. Also to add, I got overtaken in a 30mph zone (doing 30) just the other day on Ramsey Prom and they must have been doing damn near 50. There are a lot of f*ckwitts on the road at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cret Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 Yeah, that's fair enough if people want to speed they will. But my view is by not having an upper limit the Government may be seen as condoning it. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I can see your point and that's actually quite a sensible post, but I think that as long as they're seen to be taking other measures to combat bad driving then that needn't be the case. I know not everyone agrees but I think the meansures they are going to bring in will be far more efficient at getting things a little better on the roads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripsaw Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 85% of cars drive within 70mph on the Mountain Road with another 10% at or below 80mph. The speed limit is only going to effect 5% of all the cars that use the Mountain Road. Speed cameras (of the fixed variety) are like any *known* obstacle for which a temporary change of driving style can be adopted until the obstacle is passed. If you think about the number of Marshalls during TT that are needed to maintain a consistent and complete view along the entire strech of road, then you'll appreciate the number of cameras that would also be required to maintain a law abiding motoring population. Not practical to have a camera every 20 to 30 yards, is it? Alternative... When Police are deployed on notorious streches of road, they step out of the vehicle and stand by the door of their car. They then assess the driving of oncoming vehicles as they come into view, maybe with a video camera to assist them. If a car is being driven in an unsafe manner, they create a "marker" on the video and step forward and signal the driver to pull onto the side of the road. The car driver is issued with a notice of "intention to prosecute" and then waved on his/her way. At the end of the shift, the Police officer returns to headquarters armed with the video and uses the markers to create a copy of the errant driving to accompany the forthcoming summons. The driver is offered the oppotunity to plead guilty by return of letter or face a day in Court. Each week/fortnight/month the local media carry updates of offences and punishments on the Local Crime Page. The really clever bit is that the Police can catch speeders, dangerous drivers, drivers of cars in dangerous condition. Not only that, but they can be moved around the Island to catch the unsuspecting motorists in a different place on each occasion, AND!!! at different times of the day. This would ensure that the motorist doesn't become complacent as to when and when they can respect the law or turn a blind eye to it as they would soon realise that they could be stopped anywhere at anytime. But... Speed cameras? Sorry, I can not support their introduction. They have some advantages, but are usually seen by authorities as an alternative to Manpower. I don't care about civil liberties issues, nor do I care about their fund raising abilities, they are quite simply a quick fix answer for a particular place and nothing more. They would have the same effect on bad driving on open roads as the speed bumps do in Homezones. Some use, but not much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
When Skies Are Grey Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 How about we get rid of all highway rules and turn it in to Death Race 2000! Well we said we had a flagging tourist industry....am I the only seeing a potential marketing coup!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ans Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 How about a speed camera outside every school Rip? By your logic, it would be effective than a 20mph sign. Why is that a bad thing? If you don't want to get caught by a speed camera, don't speed. It really is that simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Git Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 Speed cameras (of the fixed variety) are like any *known* obstacle for which a temporary change of driving style can be adopted until the obstacle is passed. But... Speed cameras? Sorry, I can not support their introduction. They have some advantages, but are usually seen by authorities as an alternative to Manpower. I think the paper said that they would likely be mobile speed cameras which I would guess meant that they would be manned. They said that fixed cameras would not be much use on a small island as people would soon learn where they where. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tree Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 had a quick chat with an officer. he said 2 mobile camera units are going to be used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cret Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 How about a speed camera outside every school Rip? By your logic, it would be effective than a 20mph sign. Why is that a bad thing? If you don't want to get caught by a speed camera, don't speed. It really is that simple. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I think they should indeed have speed cameras outside schools. Wouldn't bother me for one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripsaw Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 I think the paper said that they would likely be mobile speed cameras which I would guess meant that they would be manned. They said that fixed cameras would not be much use on a small island as people would soon learn where they where. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> As per my above post, I AM in favour of more mobile cameras. If you don't want to get caught by a speed camera, don't speed. It really is that simple. The fixed cameras would stop people normally choose to speed, but only within the range of the camera, thus my analogy to the Homezone speed bumps. Those of us who respect the limits don't slow for the bumps then floor the throttle and race to the next bump. My wish is to see more careful driving more of the time. In my opinion the best way to encourage this is to take away any perceptions that drivers have on particular steches of road. No driver has the right to assume that they can pick and choose where and when they show courtesy to the road. Again in my opinion, fixed cameras highlight a place to slow down, pass safely then once round the next bend speed up again. I'd rather see the necessary increase in manpower that permits a visible deterrent one day, and the next day it would be around that next bend... The perception should be that any speeding or any bad driving can be observed and dealt with. Once that perception begins to change then (I hope) so will driving habits. I'm trying to think about the bigger picture, the measures that will bring long term benefits. I would like to see measures that prevent many incidents, achieving this won't happen as a result of a few fixed cameras, even if they do have some short term, localised benfits. *Thinks* The suggestion of cameras outside schools is actually one good idea for their placement, as long as they are set far enough back in all road directions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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