Speeding motorists - why?

[wolfstalin 10]

And there’s me thinking it was just cars getting bigger.

 

Exactly, apples to apples or oranges to oranges, ie similar sized cars, not cars who's only similarity is a name.

[Airport Cars 10]

Maybe the majority don't think it's ok to speed - but some do and get caught?

 

It's quite easy to go over the speed limit by accident - especially in a 30 zone....

 

You gonna tell me you've NEVER EVER gone above a speed limit, even slightly???

[Little Buzz 10]

i just think it is disgraceful that people think it is ok to speed, and therefore break the law.

its not ok for someone to break into your car and steal your belongings, ok so not on the same level, but it is still breaking the law.

why do it?

 

Your argument seems based on the premise

 

"breaking the law is always bad"

 

Although this is a good rule of thumb, it is not infallible. It has already been pointed out in this thread that speed is contextual - 20mph outside a school ay 3pm might be reckless, whereas 45mph on the same road in the middle of the night could be perfectly safe.

 

Your argument is flawed, because breaking the law is not always bad. You have to judge whether the law is valid - otherwise they would never change - it used to be against the law for women to vote, for example - but society decided that was wrong, and the law was changed.

 

You need to explain why you think driving over 70mph in a modern car on a motorway is wrong to justify the law. You cannot use the fact that there is a law to justify itself.

[beansfeast 10]

I have only got one answer to this Lottie as I can see you'll never really be convinced. I've been driving for over 15 years now and NEVER had an accident. I'm not perfect, but nor am I stupid - at times I've done downright daft stuff but I know what my and my cars limits are far better than any government rules and regulations.

As has been said, the same speed limit applying at different times of the day, in different weather conditons etc makes no sense. The government make way too much money out of speeding to ever change anything for the better, so I've decided that rather than sit there glumly at the limit not taking much interest in what's going on around me, I'll get to my destination as quickly as possible whilst making myself more aware of what's going on around me therefore being safer.

 

The problem lies with a lot of drivers these days not concentrating on what's going on around them, not being aware of their own limitations and overreacting when other drivers make mistakes...

 

There's so much more to be said around all this, but as has already been mentioned, this subject has been done to the death!

[HarmOKnee 10]

Maybe the majority don't think it's ok to speed - but some do and get caught?

 

It's quite easy to go over the speed limit by accident - especially in a 30 zone....

 

You gonna tell me you've NEVER EVER gone above a speed limit, even slightly???

 

I haven't not even slightly.

[newvanandman 10]

I haven't not even slightly.

 

But i bet you have done plenty of other dangerous stuff,all within the speed limit though

[Mr Meldrew 10]

i can accept that modern cars are safer for the drivers these days. not so much for pedestrians, but anything weighing 10 times more than a human and travelling at 30mph + hitting you is gonna hurt.

Isn\'t that a really good reason for pedestrians not to walk out in front of cars?

[Mr Meldrew 10]

Maxi kerb weight 2156 lb. 1970

 

Astra kerb weight 1715 lb. 2008

I hate to side with the do-gooder, but your figures seems incorrect.

 

1982 Astra kerb weight 990kg.

1991 Astra kerb weight 1140kg

2008 Astra kerb weight 1380kg

 

And those or typical of other models, thrtough a combination of simple growth for more cabin space, and the addition of impact bars, more rigid chassis, impact areas and lots and lots of motors and luxuries.

 

Most modern cars are significantly heavier than they were 20-30 years ago for the same model, but they stop a lot quicker and they are designed not to mangle pedestrians on impact (they have to past tests specifically aimed to minimise injury to pedestrians).

 

The speed limits are generally too low, and as a result 95% of people ignore them - which is why, when you do come across some berk travelling at 29 in a 30 limit, it is dangerous because everybody else has to work hard to overtake the clown.

[wolfstalin 10]

I said LIKE FOR LIKE not name for name, and astra in 1980 is nothing like the astra sold today.

 

The astra of today is near enough the same size as the maxi which is why I posted those weights but for instance a roller in 1970 was about a thousand pounds more than an equivalent roller today.

[Mr Meldrew 10]

I said LIKE FOR LIKE not name for name, and astra in 1980 is nothing like the astra sold today.

 

The astra of today is near enough the same size as the maxi which is why I posted those weights but for instance a roller in 1970 was about a thousand pounds more than an equivalent roller today.

I see what you say, but the 2008 astra does not weight 1700-odd pounds, it weighs more like 2900lbs.

 

You were being misleading in that earlier post.

 

All of the car classes have piled on the pounds. the Astra/Escort/Focus class has risen from 950 to 1350gk. The Cavalier/Sierra/Mondeo types have risen from 1100 to 1600kg, and the Carlton/5-series/Granada types have risen from 1400 to 1800+kg.

 

But your argument is flawed, because the man who bought a 950kg Asdtra now buys a 1350kg Astra, and the man who bought an 1100kg Sierra now buys a 1600kg Mondeo, so it IS correct to compare them under the same name.

 

As for your Rolls Royce claim, I regret to inform you that you are digging your hole deeper :

 

1975 Silver Shadow 2270kg

1998 Seraph 2302kg

2008 Phantom 2620kg

[splodgeyAl 10]

Maybe the majority don't think it's ok to speed - but some do and get caught?

 

It's quite easy to go over the speed limit by accident - especially in a 30 zone....

 

You gonna tell me you've NEVER EVER gone above a speed limit, even slightly???

 

this really is a fatuous argument. but FYI, i have broken the speed limit in the past, but i dont do so now.

 

it is also very very easy to drive within the speed limit - AND look where you're going at the same time. my eyes have a number of little muscles that allow me to swivel them around almost instantly in their sockets. combined with their variable-focus lenses, they are a boon for driving

 

to answer the op, tho, when i used to break the speed limit, it was in a misguided attempt to get where i was going quicker. i now know that the nearly 200 mile journey to my mums is about 15 mins slower if i stick to the speed limit, instead of keeping up with the traffic. and uses about 30% less fuel

[HarmOKnee 10]

But i bet you have done plenty of other dangerous stuff,all within the speed limit though

 

 

oooh! that would be telling!