[Bachs]

Be careful what you say on open forums

I joined in a discussion about Community Police Officers on a general dicussion forum a few months back and when googling my user name stumbled across this.

Thankfully mine were relatively positive comments but they have appeared on the Police Specials' own forum.

They have lifted posts from the thread, mine is the second, more positive post further down the page.

Now I wonder if they pick up the how do you earn your $$$'s thread here where I said I was a contract killer?

[Matty]

lol, it could have been worse, you could have been very rude!

[AquilaEagle]

The CPS recently got a conviction against a guy who admitted speeding on a motoring forum

Watch out!!

Bachs, police related, do you read www.5ive-o.com ?

[Dave]

Talking of speeding, found the police on the M5 hardshoulder yesterday with speed guns !!! Well out of order in my books as 90% of vehicles exceed the 70mph & the shock of seeing a copper with a speed gun caused near accidents with people slamming on brakes.

Now I know someone is going to say , 70mph is the limit blah blah blah, but we all know that nearly everyone exceeds that safely on the Motorways.

BTW read a car article the other day that showed a modern car can stop quicker from 80mph than an older car (at the time 70mph limit was imposed) at 70mph (including driver response time) . Time for the limit to be raised one thinks.

[CT]

The limit is 70 mph, although he ACPO guideines say the starting point for fed action should be the prevailing limit plus 10% plus 2mph which on the motorway gives you 79 mph. 80 mph ish appears to often be the rate of flow of the faster moving traffic, and in recent years given everyone's preoccupation with speeding, this seems to be observed by most motorway users, with speeds generally drastically reduced, although I'm constantly amazed by the odd few who bomb along at 3 figure speeds - talk about asking for trouble.

Individual officers aren't bound by the guidlelines, so you pays your money and takes your chance, but attitudes will vary from one traffic guy to another. Some will be more influenced by manner of driving and suitability of vehicle, than actual speed.

I disagree totally with the 70 limit on motorways, but it's difficult to argue against the fact that it's often necessary given the poor standards of anticipation, positioning and signalling, but that's a massive driver education programme which just isn't going to happen.

[MyPix]

Originally Posted by DJW

BTW read a car article the other day that showed a modern car can stop quicker from 80mph than an older car (at the time 70mph limit was imposed) at 70mph (including driver response time) . Time for the limit to be raised one thinks.

let me start by saying, just like 99.9% of peeps sometimes the speed limit isnt obeyed.....and i aint no saint

but think about this with regard to the above quote , and i'm not getting at DJW here....

i know modern cars stop in shorter distances and quicker , but would you want to be driving in front of an ' older ' car that doesnt, and then it slams in ur ass cuz it cant stop in the same amount as space as you ???

the rules are made for lesser performing vehicles on the road as a minimum, if you can stop in a shorter distance, then think yourself safer inside the vehicle, not a safer driver......

just my thought
MyPix

[Matty]

my driving is 90% motorway, and i get to work in the morning and get home in the evening thinking 2 things, Im lucky to have made it, and who the hell let half the people on the roads loose in a car in the first place!

[Dave]

Agree with all points above. I support use of speed cameras in accident black spots, but to use them on the motorway is just revenue earning in my eyes. More patrol cars are needed to stop the loonies & driving standards that are dropping dramatically IMO.

[SammyC]

Since doing my advanced driving test I actually find mways pretty terrifying places. Ignorance is bliss on these roads!

[Steve]

I think if something isn't done about the standard of driving in the UK things will grind to a complete halt within the next 10 years. The amount of delays and hold ups that are caused by people involved in accidents caused by bad driving is crippling the UK. If it's not accidents, it is bad driving by staying in middle lanes on the motorway, pulling out on other drivers, no use of indicators...the list is endless.

[Dave]

So thats why you left the UK then Steve

[evilowl]

Originally Posted by MyPix

i know modern cars stop in shorter distances and quicker , but would you want to be driving in front of an ' older ' car that doesnt, and then it slams in ur ass cuz it cant stop in the same amount as space as you ???

...in that case you should do the right thing and leave a bigger gap in front of you...thus being able to tap your brakes lightly (either to wake the driver behind up or give them a chance to slow down) before you go harder on the anchors...

[CriPPle]

I agree with all the points that have been made above........one thing I have always found ridiculous about driving in this country is when you take your test you have never been near a motorway and then as soon as you pass you've passed they say go for it with absolutly no training of how you should be driving on one.

I remember driving home on a motorway one night, it was a torrential down pour the sky was being lit by lightning every 10 secs, I could barely make out the car 30 metres in front of me, so I was doing around 30mph and was amazed there were ppl still overtaking me doing at least 60-70, needless to say about 4-5 miles up the motorway there was a multiple car accident where one of these idiots was unable to stop in time.

[Digital SPG]

Always a topic that will start a healthy debate!!

It is a complicated subject that is sometimes over simplified by people getting wound up by the whole topic, especially on car forums (Matty knows what I mean!).

Speed does kill, if you hit a wall at 5mph you will crack a bumper. Hit it at 70 you will probably die. That bit is easy. How an accident happens is far far more complicated. But it is bad driving that causes a crash, the speed determines the outcome.

That is the problem with the governments current policy on concentrating solely on speed. It wholly fails to address the real problem, standards of driving. If they are really committed to reducing road deaths they should start right back at the beginning. Make the driving test harder. Limit the power of vehicle an inexperienced driver can drive. Have further tests for more power. Make available subsidised advanced driving courses and look at other ways to increase driving ability across the board. There so much more to safe driving than passing a very basic DVLA test.

The treasury get more money from Simon Cowell each year than they do from speeding tickets (Jeremy Clarkson). So it is not driven by financial reasons. I think it is more to do with poor advice from certain sectors of the police (ACPO) and poorly researched data. They are slowly realising that the current policy is misguided. Hopefully they will shift back to proper policing rather than wholesale, indiscriminate, pointless persecution of the everyday motorist.

[Dave]

There is a flip side to the "power" equation, that people in lower powered vehicles put themselves in danger for longer when overtaking etc (eg. your typical Mr Sensible in their 1.0 litre Metro).

Fine balance between having enough driving skill & responsibility, vs a vehicle with adequate performance to minimise risk in situations as mentioned above.

[MyPix]

Originally Posted by DJW

There is a flip side to the "power" equation, that people in lower powered vehicles put themselves in danger for longer when overtaking etc (eg. your typical Mr Sensible in their 1.0 litre Metro).

Fine balance between having enough driving skill & responsibility, vs a vehicle with adequate performance to minimise risk in situations as mentioned above.

i disagree.......

if mr sensible in his 1ltr metro knows the limitations of his vehicle , then he will allow the apropriot space to overtake sensibly,,,,,, again this is down to driver standards and training , not the spec of the vehicle

MyPix aka Brake buster on lots of car forums, lol

[SammyC]

Originally Posted by DJW

There is a flip side to the "power" equation, that people in lower powered vehicles put themselves in danger for longer when overtaking etc (eg. your typical Mr Sensible in their 1.0 litre Metro).

Fine balance between having enough driving skill & responsibility, vs a vehicle with adequate performance to minimise risk in situations as mentioned above.

There is absolutely no danger or risk in overtaking, provided you have made sure that there are no hazards (side roads) or oncoming vehicles in range. As MyPix says, you can overtake just as safely in a Matiz as you can in a Ferrari its just that your opportunities are going to be less.