The Student Room Group

If the UK had an autobahn..

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Reply 40
Original post by just a dad
Well, global warming is an issue for us all, but I was more thinking about the silly sods (of all speeds and abilities) driving those lumps of metal.

I've seen some pretty wacky accidents in my time, most involving drivers IQs suddenly resembling those of a baboon; there is really nothing clever about driving at 110 mph on our public highways.


Thing is though, modern cars (at least my last 2) are equipped with so much **** it's almost impossible to hit anything. You could literally fall asleep on the motorway for 10 minutes and be fine. Probably the only thing they don't account for yet is traffic lights, but obviously you wouldn't get those on a motorway usually.

I'm not saying its 'right' to do; (I'm also not saying I'm an angel who's never done it), but in terms of safety I'd be pretty confident that a driver going at 110 in a modern vehicle with GPS aided radar control is far more safe than drivers in older vehicles going at 70. Hell, the radars in mine even detect speed cameras and automatically slow it down to the speed limit indicated on the GPS before it reaches them. The braking is also assisted and far superior to older vehicles (even stopping from 110 as opposed to 70). Again, I'm not saying its cool or 'right' to be doing 110, but I do think our speed limit laws need revisited.

In between these last cars, I had a old Jeep Cherokee 4.0 for about 2 months. My god it was terrible; didn't feel safe at much over 65 in it.
Original post by bad8oy
110 isn't even excessively fast. Chill buddy.


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It's quite fast when you see a foreign driver suddenly decide that he should be in the outside lane. At 55 mph.

I've seen lorries literally drive over cars, been in motorway pile-ups, been hit from three directions all at the same time, had an acquaintance killed when a large load fell off a transporter, had another acquaintance killed by a speeding driver on a country lane, been knocked off my motorbike by a young driver taking a bend too fast etc.

Spare me the "chill buddy".
Original post by samba
Thing is though, modern cars (at least my last 2) are equipped with so much **** it's almost impossible to hit anything. You could literally fall asleep on the motorway for 10 minutes and be fine. Probably the only thing they don't account for yet is traffic lights, but obviously you wouldn't get those on a motorway usually.

I'm not saying its 'right' to do; (I'm also not saying I'm an angel who's never done it), but in terms of safety I'd be pretty confident that a driver going at 110 in a modern vehicle with GPS aided radar control is far more safe than drivers in older vehicles going at 70. Hell, the radars in mine even detect speed cameras and automatically slow it down to the speed limit indicated on the GPS before it reaches them. The braking is also assisted and far superior to older vehicles (even stopping from 110 as opposed to 70). Again, I'm not saying its cool or 'right' to be doing 110, but I do think our speed limit laws need revisited.

In between these last cars, I had a old Jeep Cherokee 4.0 for about 2 months. My god it was terrible; didn't feel safe at much over 65 in it.

See my post above. I think you overestimate the ability of many road users.
Reply 43
Original post by just a dad
See my post above. I think you overestimate the ability of many road users.


Radar control assesses risks and avoids them. If you're about to be in a collision, it will take over to avoid it. It will keep you a safe distance from other vehicles, recognise retarded ****ing pedestrians on the M6 in the dark well before the naked eye can see them, etc. (ever had that? it's scary as hell) You wouldn't avoid a large load falling from a transporter at 70 most likely, though low speed and being closer would likely be far less safe than keeping your distance at high speed. But that's literally a freak accident. You wouldn't avoid a lightning strike either.

Radar control would easily prevent the other collisions you mentioned.
Reply 44
Original post by just a dad
It's quite fast when you see a foreign driver suddenly decide that he should be in the outside lane. At 55 mph.

I've seen lorries literally drive over cars, been in motorway pile-ups, been hit from three directions all at the same time, had an acquaintance killed when a large load fell off a transporter, had another acquaintance killed by a speeding driver on a country lane, been knocked off my motorbike by a young driver taking a bend too fast etc.

Spare me the "chill buddy".


Ok....a drivers skill plays a big part.
Drivers that don't look ahead and don't assess risks are likely to crash when travelling at speed. A skilled driver won't crash doing 110mph on a motorway, unless someone else is at fault, or he has a blowout or something.



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Original post by TornadoGR4
This is just a disgusting attitude. It isn't necessarily a matter of "It's fine because I enjoy it", it's the fact it endangers others and is stupidly reckless behaviour from what I can only guess to be an arrogant adolescent in an attempt to boast or show off. Also some people are 'comfortable' doing drugs, some are 'comfortable' with stealing, but that doesn't make it any less illegal. I hope this reckless driving catches up with you, not by way of death, injury or even accident, but by a suspended licence, hefty fine & a big chunk of community service. You're the reason insurance costs for new and young drivers are ridiculously high.


Okay, well as I stated earlier, my license isn't going anywhere so people need to move on from wishing that upon me because it's not going to happen. People can hope all they want.

My motives for the speed I drive has nothing to do with showing off. I've got nothing to prove to anyone. Heck, even my girlfriend doesn't give a damn about my car so speeding in attempt to show off would be futile; I just like going quick!

Also, clarify how I'm the reason why insurance is high for young drivers? And think before you answer this. I've been driving for 3.5 years with no insurance claims and 2 NCB (was a named driver first year). I'm now on my second car which is 150bhp and I have not had any need to claim anything on my insurance. So, if anything, I'm helping reduce the premium for young drivers. Trying to discredit what I just said would be nonsensical. Seriously, don't reply just because you feel you need to retaliate, I'm really not here to argue.

And I'm childish enough for this to make me want to drive faster on my 40-45 minute commute I do every morning - still no negative effect on young drivers premium though so don't worry yourself!


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Original post by bad8oy
Ok....a drivers skill plays a big part.
Drivers that don't look ahead and don't assess risks are likely to crash when travelling at speed. A skilled driver won't crash doing 110mph on a motorway, unless someone else is at fault, or he has a blowout or something.



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Someone that speaks sense. Couldn't +1 this cause I already +1'd your last post! Sorry, buddy!
Reply 47
Original post by bad8oy
Ok....a drivers skill plays a big part.
Drivers that don't look ahead and don't assess risks are likely to crash when travelling at speed. A skilled driver won't crash doing 110mph on a motorway, unless someone else is at fault, or he has a blowout or something.



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It's a waste of time talking about a driver's "skill" in relation to driving at 100+, it's the lack of skill and concentration from everyone else on the road that's the problem. I've lost count of the number of times I've had someone pull into the rightmost lane doing 55mph to overtake a lorry causing me to have to slam on the brakes, either from not judging my speed or just not paying attention. I also avoid, on all roads, ever letting myself be in the blind spot of another car after having two drivers try to pull into my lane with me right next to them (i.e. they check their wing-mirror, indicate, start to pull over and only then bother to check whether there's someone occupying the space they're about to pull into). At speeds like 110mph, even having another car graze your rear bumper from the side will be enough to send you rolling (granted it's not a good idea at 70 either but at 110 you'll have even less control)
Original post by just a dad
Don't make promises you can't keep.
Having clocked up over half a million miles in the UK, USA and Western Europe I am confident in saying that your arrogance exceeds your ability.


Speed doesn't kill. Undue care and attention does.

You can't find one incident where speed itself has killed. If someone is doing 100mph on the motorway its generally very safe. This is a common occurrence on UK roads in the fast lane where people generally overtake at 75mph +. If you do 45mph through a 30mph residential area where childten could be playing then speed hasn't killed, a stupid and inconsiderate driver has killed.

I know people who've sped on motorways for 40+ years and no incidents whatsoever. Likewise, I unfortunately know one moron who went to my school who at 19, 1 year after passing his test, decided to speed through a residential area and hit the kerb and wrap up through someone's front window. That wasn't because of speed but because he was and still is a massive and inconsiderate ********. Thankfully due to not being considerate and paying attention he's lost his license.

Ask your local traffic cop, every single crash is due to someone not paying attention to with road conditions or other road users or signals etc.

To me someone doing 100mph on the motorway and alert and paying attention is much safer than a girl doing 70mph and doing her make up in the bloody car mirror and not paying attention.

Speed only kills in the hands of an inconsiderate or malicious person just as a gun does.

I've done 150mph on the Autobahn no problem with cars flying passed me at 150mph +.

People who speed in built up areas however or in poor road conditions should be banned with immediate effect. I would never think to reach such speeds in wet weather or conditions with poor visibility.

Speeding can contribute to accidents but only if the driver is not paying attention, inconsiderate of various factors etc. Speed alone doesn't kill and never has.

I have no problem with someone speeding on a motorway and a lot of people do - motorway crashes in the UK make up the smallest amount. However, people who speed in residential areas on roads designed for low speeds are ********s and should be banned.

However, the argument that we should adhere strictly to government imposed limits is nonsense. If the government changed it to 90mph tomorrow would you then say 90mph is safe when today it'd be classed as speeding? No you wouldn't.

Accidents are caused by retards too busy showing off, doing their make up, on their phone or texting, talking to a passenger and not paying attention, struggling to cope with kids in the backseat, drinking, etc.
A lot of people seem to be missing the point of my posts.
Original post by Noble.
It's a waste of time talking about a driver's "skill" in relation to driving at 100+, it's the lack of skill and concentration from everyone else on the road that's the problem. I've lost count of the number of times I've had someone pull into the rightmost lane doing 55mph to overtake a lorry causing me to have to slam on the brakes, either from not judging my speed or just not paying attention. I also avoid, on all roads, ever letting myself be in the blind spot of another car after having two drivers try to pull into my lane with me right next to them (i.e. they check their wing-mirror, indicate, start to pull over and only then bother to check whether there's someone occupying the space they're about to pull into). At speeds like 110mph, even having another car graze your rear bumper from the side will be enough to send you rolling (granted it's not a good idea at 70 either but at 110 you'll have even less control)


Okay, this makes sense to me too. I appreciate non-aggressive posts like this. Maybe I'm just naive about these situations because I've fortunately never been in them, as obvious as they may seem to you, it doesn't really occur to me.

Actually, I have had incredibly slow drivers pull out in front of me on dual carriageways, I usually just give a single flash (which is seen as somewhat aggressive here in the UK but in most of Europe it's the appropriate way to say, "Please move over, I'd like to pass you") and 9/10 times, they move back over before they fully commit to the overtake they were planning to do.
Original post by just a dad
It's quite fast when you see a foreign driver suddenly decide that he should be in the outside lane. At 55 mph.

I've seen lorries literally drive over cars, been in motorway pile-ups, been hit from three directions all at the same time, had an acquaintance killed when a large load fell off a transporter, had another acquaintance killed by a speeding driver on a country lane, been knocked off my motorbike by a young driver taking a bend too fast etc.

Spare me the "chill buddy".


That wasn't because of speed. That was because they had horrible judgement and if you take a bend too fast you're a moron quite frankly. Honestly, a 90 degree bend you slow down for. A hairpin you slow down even more for and accelerate out of it like any turn. A slight bend you can usually maintain speed or drop slightly.

If you can't work this out and pay attention you shouldn't be on the ****ing road in the first place. The problem is the test is too easy and they let too many morons on the road in machines they are too unskilled to use.

Please don't blame speed for someone being an inconsiderate ********.
Original post by Sanctimonious
That wasn't because of speed. That was because they had horrible judgement and if you take a bend too fast you're a moron quite frankly. Honestly, a 90 degree bend you slow down for. A hairpin you slow down even more for and accelerate out of it like any turn. A slight bend you can usually maintain speed or drop slightly.

If you can't work this out and pay attention you shouldn't be on the ****ing road in the first place. The problem is the test is too easy and they let too many morons on the road in machines they are too unskilled to use.

Please don't blame speed for someone being an inconsiderate ********.

Again, you're missing the point of my posts.
Reply 53
Original post by live_a_life
Okay, this makes sense to me too. I appreciate non-aggressive posts like this. Maybe I'm just naive about these situations because I've fortunately never been in them, as obvious as they may seem to you, it doesn't really occur to me.

Actually, I have had incredibly slow drivers pull out in front of me on dual carriageways, I usually just give a single flash (which is seen as somewhat aggressive here in the UK but in most of Europe it's the appropriate way to say, "Please move over, I'd like to pass you") and 9/10 times, they move back over before they fully commit to the overtake they were planning to do.


To be honest, being put in that situation does make you more aware of the road and other road users - and in some respects they are lessons worth having before you get to the point where you're driving at 100+ on the motorway (where you might just get one very quick lesson). I think if you've only been in situations where you've been able to flash people back over to their previous lane, you haven't really had someone pull out in front of you yet. When you do have someone do this, you instinctively won't reach to flash the lights, you'll be gripping the steering wheel with your foot firmly on the brake :lol: I have definitely been in at least one situation where had I been going 10mph more (i.e. over 100) I'd have gone into the back of a car that cut me up.
Reply 54
Original post by Noble.
It's a waste of time talking about a driver's "skill" in relation to driving at 100+, it's the lack of skill and concentration from everyone else on the road that's the problem. I've lost count of the number of times I've had someone pull into the rightmost lane doing 55mph to overtake a lorry causing me to have to slam on the brakes, either from not judging my speed or just not paying attention. I also avoid, on all roads, ever letting myself be in the blind spot of another car after having two drivers try to pull into my lane with me right next to them (i.e. they check their wing-mirror, indicate, start to pull over and only then bother to check whether there's someone occupying the space they're about to pull into). At speeds like 110mph, even having another car graze your rear bumper from the side will be enough to send you rolling (granted it's not a good idea at 70 either but at 110 you'll have even less control)


I understand bro, it's happened to me too, I tend to keep an eye on cars in the middle lane, let off the accelerator and let the car slow a bit but you can usually tell when they're about to pull out in front of you. I've never really ever felt unsafe driving at 110-120mph.

Totally agree with you though.
It only takes a split second for an accident to happen.

Depends on how busy the roads are too.

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(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 55
Original post by live_a_life
Someone that speaks sense. Couldn't +1 this cause I already +1'd your last post! Sorry, buddy!


It's ok :tongue:
What car do you drive?


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Original post by bad8oy
It's ok :tongue:
What car do you drive?


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BMW 320d Saloon 150bhp.

You?
Original post by SeamanStaines
With 10 lanes each side and light enough traffic that you can drive as fast as you like

what speed would you drive at ?


The limit that the government set...
Original post by Noble.
To be honest, being put in that situation does make you more aware of the road and other road users - and in some respects they are lessons worth having before you get to the point where you're driving at 100+ on the motorway (where you might just get one very quick lesson). I think if you've only been in situations where you've been able to flash people back over to their previous lane, you haven't really had someone pull out in front of you yet. When you do have someone do this, you instinctively won't reach to flash the lights, you'll be gripping the steering wheel with your foot firmly on the brake :lol: I have definitely been in at least one situation where had I been going 10mph more (i.e. over 100) I'd have gone into the back of a car that cut me up.


Nah, they have pulled over very close to me. Similar to the situation you mentioned toward the end of your post. I do have to smash the breaks, but then I flash once immediately after the incident and they move back over once they realise that I was there!

I'm actually getting used to those situations, specifically, because you get a lot of them on the M25, M4 and M40 near London which I use very frequently!
Reply 59
Original post by live_a_life
BMW 320d Saloon 150bhp.

You?


E46?
Was driving the e90 330d this Monday gone they're not bad cars, perfect size and good power.

57 plate passat 1.9tdi mapped to 145 :tongue:
Feels really slow now though :frown: insurance is a bitch.


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