[Tom]

Originally Posted by Omah

Frankly, I hope you get caught by the police breaking the speed limit and are prosecuted to the full extent of the law .....

I have been caught speeding quite a few times. Normally they just let me off but I had a speed awareness course and later got 3 points- 1 for doing 34mph in a 30 zone and the other for doing 59mph in a 50 zone, even though its a road that goes from 60 to 50 and the road stays the same.

I've never been prosecuted for doing 80 down the motorway even though I've gone past many cameras doing that, and if you use common sense when you're driving then you'll be fine. Don't go faster than the person in front of you, and if you want to then overtake them and move back into that lane. If someones tailgating then move out of their way if you can or slow down if you can't. Reduce speed for bends, and reduce speed for certain weather conditions and most of all leave a big enough gap between you and the person in front. A lower speed limit doesn't automatically make you a good/better/safer driver, its about how you drive and how you react to what you're faced with. I think I'm a good and safe driver.

If you've got a good enough attention span and keep to the basics ie checking mirrors then theres no way at all how you can have an accident on the motorway. You don't even have to use your clutch for the most post, its just constant acceleration.

[Omah]

Originally Posted by Tom

I think I'm a good and safe driver.

Of course you do ..... everybody thinks they are, but not everybody is - 90% of mororway accidents involve driver error .....

Big Pile up on Motorway :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7cyQAE-L9A

[Tom]

Originally Posted by Omah

Of course you do ..... everybody thinks they are, but not everybody is - 90% of mororway accidents involve driver error .....

Big Pile up on Motorway :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7cyQAE-L9A

Not everyone thinks they can drive well. I've never had an accident in 5 years when I use the motorway more or less every day and have driven abroad too, including Spain which is notorious for bad drivers

You can post all the statistics and youtube clips you want, but you seem to be overlooking the main statistic for road safety. Motorways are statistically the safest roads. That pile up is pretty obviously caused by the rain and if you're doing to drive at full speed or over the limit in the rain on a busy motorway then you're a complete idiot

[Omah]

Originally Posted by Tom

Not everyone thinks they can drive well. I've never had an accident in 5 years when I use the motorway more or less every day

You may be tempting fate .....

Originally Posted by Tom

You can post all the statistics and youtube clips you want, but you seem to be overlooking the main statistic for road safety. Motorways are statistically the safest roads. That pile up is pretty obviously caused by the rain and if you're doing to drive at full speed or over the limit in the rain on a busy motorway then you're a complete idiot

You seem to be overlooking the point that fewer accidents happen per mile on motorways, but when they happen, usually through driver error (including over-confidence and speeding), the result is carnage and frequently death - you could easily be doing your good, safe driving at 90mph when somebody else doing 120mph clips and spins you into the following traffic - at that speed you would be seriously injured, if not killed, and so would many other good, safe drivers - the video is a classic example illustrating how the innocent become victims and the guilty escape unscathed - even if you avoid injury in such a crash, unravelling the dozens of insurance claims (including unqualified and uninsured drivers) would take months .....

[Tom]

Originally Posted by Omah

You seem to be overlooking the point that fewer accidents happen per mile on motorways, but when they happen, usually through driver error (including over-confidence and speeding), the result is carnage and frequently death - you could easily be doing your good, safe driving at 90mph when somebody else doing 120mph clips and spins you into the following traffic - at that speed you would be seriously injured, if not killed, and so would many other good, safe drivers - the video is a classic example illustrating how the innocent become victims and the guilty escape unscathed - even if you avoid injury in such a crash, unravelling the dozens of insurance claims (including unqualified and uninsured drivers) would take months .....

But driver error is a fault for most accidents. You could be in a stationary car or doing 70mph and get hit at 120mph which could still have the same effect you mention. And if I saw someone coming up behind me at 120mph and I was going slower, I'd definitely move out the way to begin with. I check my mirrors all the time.

Besides, doing 80mph isn't significantly over the 70mph limit and thats the speed limit proposal. Doing 120mph is downright taking the piss and doing almost double the speed limit. Its completely different. If you use your common sense and keep aware of whats going on around you when you're driving at high speeds (within reason) then you'll be fine.

[Omah]

Originally Posted by Tom

But driver error is a fault for most accidents. You could be in a stationary car or doing 70mph and get hit at 120mph which could still have the same effect you mention. And if I saw someone coming up behind me at 120mph and I was going slower, I'd definitely move out the way to begin with. I check my mirrors all the time.

Besides, doing 80mph isn't significantly over the 70mph limit and thats the speed limit proposal. Doing 120mph is downright taking the piss and doing almost double the speed limit. Its completely different. If you use your common sense and keep aware of whats going on around you when you're driving at high speeds (within reason) then you'll be fine.

If you say so .....

Let me know what you think when you've driven for another 5 years .....

[Pyramid*]

Originally Posted by Tom

I have been caught speeding quite a few times. Normally they just let me off but I had a speed awareness course and later got 3 points- 1 for doing 34mph in a 30 zone and the other for doing 59mph in a 50 zone, even though its a road that goes from 60 to 50 and the road stays the same.

I've never been prosecuted for doing 80 down the motorway even though I've gone past many cameras doing that, and if you use common sense when you're driving then you'll be fine. Don't go faster than the person in front of you, and if you want to then overtake them and move back into that lane. If someones tailgating then move out of their way if you can or slow down if you can't. Reduce speed for bends, and reduce speed for certain weather conditions and most of all leave a big enough gap between you and the person in front. A lower speed limit doesn't automatically make you a good/better/safer driver, its about how you drive and how you react to what you're faced with. I think I'm a good and safe driver.

If you've got a good enough attention span and keep to the basics ie checking mirrors then theres no way at all how you can have an accident on the motorway. You don't even have to use your clutch for the most post, its just constant acceleration.

Not been driving that long yet you've already 25% of the way to losing your licence.

As for your final paragraph. What utter nonsense - especially the last 4 words.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by Pyramid*

Not been driving that long yet you've already 25% of the way to losing your licence.

As for your final paragraph. What utter nonsense - especially the last 4 words.

... points which run out in about 2 months. so unless I do something terrible I'm nowhere near losing my license.

Whats 'utter nonsense' about my final paragraph? If you've not got a good attention span and can't be aware of whats going on around you then you shouldn't be on the road because you'll cause a crash. And all you do on a motorway as far as speed goes is accelerate a bit, ease off, accelerate a bit more, ease off again and repeat. Its not often you need to start changing down gears unless its a bad motorway thats always packed, but for the most part and the ones I use (other than the M6) its pretty simple to drive on and I think motorway driving is a lot easier and safer than city driving

[Pyramid*]

Originally Posted by Tom

... points which run out in about 2 months. so unless I do something terrible I'm nowhere near losing my license.

Whats 'utter nonsense' about my final paragraph? If you've not got a good attention span and can't be aware of whats going on around you then you shouldn't be on the road because you'll cause a crash. And all you do on a motorway as far as speed goes is accelerate a bit, ease off, accelerate a bit more, ease off again and repeat. Its not often you need to start changing down gears unless its a bad motorway thats always packed, but for the most part and the ones I use (other than the M6) its pretty simple to drive on and I think motorway driving is a lot easier and safer than city driving

It's irrelevant how long your points have remaining. The point I was making was that given the short amount of years you have been driving - you've managed to rack up points that equate to 1/4 of the way to losing your licence already.


If you are quite serious in not being able to see what is wrong about your final paragraph - I hope you don't drive around the motorways in my part of the word.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by Pyramid*

If you are quite serious in not being able to see what is wrong about your final paragraph - I hope you don't drive around the motorways in my part of the word.

Describe to me how you drive on a motorway then and where I'm going wrong. In fact I'd love to know how you get your car up to speed if you don't keep touching on your accelerator, could save me a bomb on petrol.

[Pyramid*]

Originally Posted by Tom

Describe to me how you drive on a motorway then and where I'm going wrong.

I suggest you consider having a recheck at what affects motorway driving, and causes of accidents. It's not all about having a good attention span etc. It tends to be the things beyond 'your' control that cause the accidents - not 'you'.

Now that can be sudden queues, weather conditions, accidents, debris on the road, spillages, people cutting in suddenly, tailgating as has been discussed, others falling asleep, others having to hit brakes suddenly, car failure, a million things.

Cruising along a high speeds, limits the chances of being able to react safely to any of the above.

and it's most certainly not a case of 'it's just constant accleration' as you stated earlier.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by Pyramid*

I suggest you consider having a recheck at what affects motorway driving, and causes of accidents. It's not all about having a good attention span etc. It tends to be the things beyond 'your' control that cause the accidents - not 'you'.

Now that can be sudden queues, weather conditions, accidents, debris on the road, spillages, people cutting in suddenly, tailgating as has been discussed, others falling asleep, others having to hit brakes suddenly, car failure, a million things.

Cruising along a high speeds, limits the chances of being able to react safely to any of the above.

and it's most certainly not a case of 'it's just constant accleration' as you stated earlier.

adjust your speed accordingly then. I don't mean categorically accelerate above 70mph all the time, just if its suitable to do so. You just know if you're going too fast, you don't need a sign to tell you that.

Just out of interest, where do you live? Maybe the motorways are much moer congested near you so it takes a lot more. Its quite rare where I am (other than as I said earlier on the M6 car park) to get caught in congestion unless theres been an accident or is just generally a queue, for which there are always plenty of signs.

[Omah]

Originally Posted by Tom

If you've not got a good attention span and can't be aware of whats going on around you then you shouldn't be on the road because you'll cause a crash.

That'll include most drivers under 30 and over 55, at a guess .....

http://www.newsinsurances.co.uk/blog...roads/01691822

A recent survey by has found that van drivers are overwhelmingly considered the worst behaved on UK roads. The next worse were young drivers, older drivers, taxi drivers and school-run mothers. The poll, conducted by a motor insurance comparison service, also revealed that lorry drivers were considered the best drivers on the road.