Lonan3 Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Someone called me a while ago about draconian speed limits and suggested we form some sort of an action group to resist this kind of nonsense. Any takers? Not unless they first push for better road surfaces and lots more safe overtaking places! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Just glad I got to test drive the Noble M12 up there before they applied the nanny limit. As ans says, thin end of the wedge folks. Instead of encouraging drivers to gain the skills to drive quickly and safely, we're all being dragged down to shuffling along in lines like toy cars on a kiddie ride. Someone called me a while ago about draconian speed limits and suggested we form some sort of an action group to resist this kind of nonsense. Any takers? I'd be up for that Stu. Something has to be done before this whole place is ruined. Have you ever noticed that the people who have accidents on the roads where speed is involved usually have a second or third contributing factor to the accident? It is never speed alone that is to blame for an accident. It might be inexperience, defective parts of the car, alcohol or drug related or road surface defects, let alone bad weather that plays a key role in causing the accident. So, what do we do to combat the high number of accidents? Well, if ‘R’ plates have not worked, we still don’t have M.O.Ts on private cars, people still drink and drive not to mention the D.O.T having as much chance of providing decent roads as the Met office has of controlling the weather, what else is there to do? In my humble but honest opinion, we are not doing enough to enforce the laws we have already in place. We have let our roads deteriorate into a condition that would not meet health and safety standards in most workplaces, and we completely ignore a driver’s ability to drive years after they have passed a test. I would like to see better speed limit enforcement in the places that truly deserve a speed limit and faster roads improved to make it so that when you are on them, no body can doubt that it is a fast road, let alone criticize anyone for going fast on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah 01 Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Beckett - SPEED has never killed anyone, the inappropriate use of it has - so go back to your chip enhanced, state controlled sleep. 'Far better, IMHO, is to take all the driving instructors and teach them what they should be teaching their pupils. It is the standard of driving over here, not the speed, which is the real reason there are so many accidents.' Spot on, 'glad to be back' , and also well put Tempus Fugit and Paul H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Peters Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 I think the whole debate on speed limits has already been routined effectively both here and in the media, so I don't have anything new to add. Except to mention something my kids noticed when they were over earlier in the week about the way I drive nowadays. I obey speed limits here, because (so far) I think they're safe and reasonable, and still allow me to find stretches of safe, open roads with no limits. Whereas in the UK very few people obey the limits. I certainly didn't on the motorways, as I always thought they were a complete nonsense. So like most people on my daily commute on the M56 I learned where the speed cameras and cop hides were and possibly spent more time dodging speed cops than concentrating on the road ahead. And to those who post that 'it only adds a few seconds to your journey' I wonder if they're happy to follow old people down the street on foot, or whether they stride past on their way to whatever? I don't want my progress on the road to be limited by the slowest people any more than you would choose to follow Mrs Grunge to the Post Office on pension day. It's not about speed per se, it's about being forcibly dumbed-down to the lowest common denominator. In my opinion (and that's all it is) more accidents are caused by trains of cars stuck behind a slow driver leading to a foolish overtake than by people hammering across the mountain at full steam. Since many of these recent fatalities have involved inexperienced kids with R-plates, I think that's something that certainly should be addressed. Despite the 'official diary' Jurby seems to be vacant most days I've driven past - how about compulsory skid training for all as part of the Manx licence (and renewal thereof)? If anyone wants to PM me with contact details, I'll collate them with a view to organising a meeting where some sort of group may get set up. If only to act as a focal point in reminding the Minister that the wishes of the people who responded to the last Transport initiative were very clear on all-island speed limits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Not unless they first push for better road surfaces and lots more safe overtaking places! Now you're asking for the impossible.. The roads over here are a disgrace, and I wonder where all the car tax is going... I guess one of the main excuses is that there isn't enough money to look after all the roads and keep'em in acceptable condition. Same thing back home - just ask the German transport authorities, and everyone will tell you that they haven't got enough money for road works and maintenance, yet miraculously, they still manage to keep the roads in a generally very good condition, and not patch them up and challenge your driving skills with pothole after pothole.. No surprise there are so many accidents over here - it doesn't matter how fast you're going, a third-world like road will always lead to more incidents than one that has been properly built and maintained... I've also noticed that driving at night feels very different over here, and I somehow think it's to do with the fact that the roads over here are way too dark at night. Whoever thought that sticking some little cat-eye reflectors in the middle of the road would be enough was clearly wrong. You might be able to make out the immediate path of the road in front of you, but that's it, and a visual reference in the middle of the road is no good anyway, as people (especially unexperienced drivers) are prone to stick to this middle reference in one way or another, hence driving too close to the center of the road, instead of being able to judge the width of the whole road and use it appropriately. I'm convinced that visual references on both sides of the road would make driving at night an awful lot safer. Sorry to bring out the "German Card" again, but this difference in driving conditions really struck me - here's a German B-road (Landstrasse, as we would call it), yesterday: Notice the reflector posts on both sides - we have them on nearly every road, from country roads to Autobahns, and there is one on each side of the road every 50 meters (or 100 on Motorways, if I remember that right). They might not look like much of a safety feature, but you would definitely notice the difference when driving at night. A clear visual reference on both sides of the road, which is also visible from further away when you approach, due to it's elevation. Not some little reflector in the middle of the road, obscured by potholes and bumps.... Once things like better roads, driver education (especially for beginners) and vehicle safety have been adressed, then they can think of speed limits - before that has happened, it's no good whatsoever... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexMcC Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Beckett - SPEED has never killed anyone, the inappropriate use of it has - so go back to your chip 'Far better, IMHO, is to take all the driving instructors and teach them what they should be teaching their pupils. It is the standard of driving over here, not the speed, which is the real reason there are so many accidents.' Spot on, 'glad to be back' , and also well put Tempus Fugit and Paul H. I do think (As I am currently learning) That the instructors do teach you to Drive responsibly, but its that boy racer thing all again, and there are plenty of crap drivers out there, and I'm sure that If you all got hold of the Instructors half of you would tell them to tell us that coasting is a good thing. The instructors teach us properly, Just when you've passed you ignore half the rules in favor of the shortcuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckett Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Amadeus, we have reflective posts on roads too. They're not that widely used but they do exist. The DoT also paint white lines on either side of the roads in some places on the Island to mark the perminiter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckett Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Beckett - SPEED has never killed anyone, the inappropriate use of it has - so go back to your chip enhanced, state controlled sleep. I'll hold the hair whilst you swing the axe to split it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallybug Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 I'll hold the hair whilst you swing the axe to split it. To split it even further, speed cannot kill - it is just a rate of motion. It is the inappropriate use of speed leading to a loss of control or collision that is the cause of most accidents. I don't know the details of the accidents on the Ballamodha, but it is a straight piece of road once you get past the crossroads at the top - the drivers must have been doing something wrong to be involved in an incident there, I would've thought. If the incident was caused by a part on the car breaking, it's still more than likely the driver's fault - not keeping the vehicle in a roadworthy condition. And as mentioned earlier, in the UK the Ballamodha road would be a normal country 'B' road with a 60 limit - why it has to be a 50 I don't know (I can agree with the 40mph past the crossroads though - blind junctions etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Amadeus, we have reflective posts on roads too. They're not that widely used but they do exist. The DoT also paint white lines on either side of the roads in some places on the Island to mark the perminiter. I know - noticed them on the mountain road (the posts) - more of the same please.. And white lines should be on both sides of every road... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesemonster2005 Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 but (as has been said elsewhere before) the mere fact that posts go up saying the speed limit is 50mph doesn't mean that all traffic will not do more than 50......and in a couple of years time we will still be hearing about RTA's on the Ballamodh involving (a) vehicle(s) travelling at more than 50.... ....maybe when all vehicles are fitted with speed transponders linked by the new Gallileo satellite system to a computer in Police HQ then...and big brother knows where you are all the time.. and what you are doing and thinking of doing... Yes but hopefully at least some people will take notice. Speed cameras can be used to catch the idiots who still want to put our lives in danger. What's the point in driving so fast - the island's only 50km long so you'll still get to anywhere within an hour. Just install some speed bumps along the route to slow the idiots who refuse to take note. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digga Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Just Be careful on Tynwald street as a nice police man pointed out to me the otherday as he handed me a ticket i turned round to him and said "i was never doing more than '30' " and he said "thats true" but its now as that has been turned in to a '20' zone and i was doing 28mph and that i was speeding hence the ticket show me where to sign up Stu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah 01 Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 cheesey 'Speed cameras can be used to catch the idiots who still want to put our lives in danger. ' They won't. For pity's sake would somebody please dispel this myth. Those who want to endanger life will continue to do so with or without speed limits or cameras. This is what happens with speed cameras - traffic flow brakes (often quite violently) approaching the camera, traffic proceeds across the pretty white lines in the road at required speed (for all of 100m!), traffic resumes previous speed. Alex - in ye olde days when I passed my test 'coasting' was an instant failure. The car is equipped, at considerable expense, with a gear box so use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted December 31, 2005 Author Share Posted December 31, 2005 but (as has been said elsewhere before) the mere fact that posts go up saying the speed limit is 50mph doesn't mean that all traffic will not do more than 50... ...and in a couple of years time we will still be hearing about RTA's on the Ballamodh involving (a) vehicle(s) travelling at more than 50.... ....maybe when all vehicles are fitted with speed transponders linked by the new Gallileo satellite system to a computer in Police HQ then...and big brother knows where you are all the time.. and what you are doing and thinking of doing... Yes but hopefully at least some people will take notice. Speed cameras can be used to catch the idiots who still want to put our lives in danger. What's the point in driving so fast - the island's only 50km long so you'll still get to anywhere within an hour. Just install some speed bumps along the route to slow the idiots who refuse to take note. No-one will take any notice, who takes notice of any limits we have now? speed bumps? Add hazards to roads, great idea. It's a 50mph, not a friggin 20mph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesemonster2005 Posted January 1, 2006 Share Posted January 1, 2006 No-one will take any notice, who takes notice of any limits we have now? speed bumps? Add hazards to roads, great idea. It's a 50mph, not a friggin 20mph. So what would you suggest to reduce accidents and fatalities? The majority of people take note of speed limits. A sizable minority ignore them. If even some people obey the new limits it will be a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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