--- Well, if you're telling us you're unable to control your speed without looking at your speedo every 5 seconds why don't you try going a bit slower, giving yourself a bit more breathing space between your speed and the limit. Thus you wouldn't need to look at your speedo as much, it's not rocket science surely?
Tangler, that's exactly the argument, I do go a bit slower, quite a lot on occasion, that's not because the speed limit dictates it, but because the road conditions do! I always give myself the breathing space you mention, only I call it STOPPING DISTANCE and that isn't governed by what a government agent has decided is safe for everyone (arbitrarily) NATIONALLY, but what is safe for my car, my road and weather conditions, as well as my skill level! And my speedo CAN'T tell me or anyone else if I'm safe or not to drive at any particular speed, it just isn't that intelligent! All it can tell me is that I might be illegal according to the signs! Can you see the point I'm making in that last sentence?
Now, as I stated and you noticed in the past, I've already done close to 1M miles, consider on the other hand the new driver who has only ever been driving at 30-40mph to "PASS THE TEST" and now released into the wild with dad's powerful car and a few mates in the cab distracting him from everything he should be looking at. Everything but the speedo and the speed signs (cause he doesn't want to lose that precious bit of plastic affording him all this new freedom)! Can you see where I'm heading? Or rather where he's heading together with his mates tightly packed in a metal meat container?
I'm sure you'll be now advocating for lowering all the speed limits because the Learners cannot drive that fast AND we have to make it safe for everyone! Why not change how good someone comes out of the driving school in the first place? Given that speed awareness isn't the only thing a driver should be learning anyway! Tangler, no one here is saying that what you're advocating is wrong, what we object to is the blanket approach to the problem of safe driving. That and the fact that most problems on the road aren't caused by speed but by the improper use of speed! Lowering the speed limit will only affect the safe drivers, those that want to will break the limits regardless how low you set them.
Why not instead concentrate on making the roads safer, not slower! There are ways of lowering the speed limits on sections of road where it isn't safe by just sticking a speed limit sign, no need to reduce the National Speed Limit just because on certain section of dual carriageway A40 or indeed past your house it isn't safe to drive at the National Limit!
And instead concentrate your energies into changing the way we as drivers are equipped for the road in the first place, with real skills like overtaking. Make the test a true DRIVING TEST, not one of ability to perform a set of exercises, make it so hard that you have a pass rate of 20% not 80%, one that people think hard about undertaking in the first place! Introduce some proper off road (I don't mean gravel) skill driving, with a bit of high speed race track experience thrown in. Then hand the test over to active experienced traffic policemen and once passed force people to carry a sign which identifies them as BEGINNERS for 12 months. Teach them respect for the others on the road, to get out of the way of the faster traffic, that the middle and third lane are not for cruising but overtaking etc. etc. etc. etc.
Then, and only then you might be able to advocate lowering the blanket speed limits, once you've eliminated all the other problems and decided that in spite of all being brilliant drivers we're still so reckless that we need taming further, ALL OF US!
So much work to do, so little time. Instead people like you decide to bunch-up tighter all those unskilled drivers at lower speeds! Madness! Look at countries around the world where density has already dictated that speeds are lower, traffic has ground to a halt, pollution is rife as cars are running at way less efficient fuel burning speeds (and for longer), almost all cars are dented in some way because of the higher incident rate of low speed bumps, government had to introduce very high kerbs to protect the pedestrians, who in turn do not dare venture on the roads for fear of being crushed! Is that where you and your friends want to push this Island towards?
This government went to the last election with this slogan: EDUCATION EDUCATION EDUCATION! Where is all that education promised?
Dan
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