Fastest you have ever driven on a UK public road

[AtW]

there isn't a an accident you could have at 100mph which would be guaranteed safe at 70mph.

Bullcrap. Stopping distance at 100 mph is double that of 70 mph, even if you have very good car - this means that your stopping distance will be much greater than other road users.

Ferraries are very safe for drivers - there are a fair few documented examples when they were crashed to a complete writeoff at speeds exceeding 100 mph, yet drivers walked away. Volvo and other mass make cars in these circumstances will result in certain death.

[VectraMan]

Bullcarp. Stopping distance at 100 mph is double that of 70 mph, even if you have very good car - this means that your stopping distance will be much greater than other road users.

Yes, but stopping distance assumes that a child jumps out at you, or something. On a motorway that doesn't happen*. I admit if you're overtaking somebody doing 70 and they pull out in front of you at the last second and do an emergency stop you may well be screwed, but the problem there is them pulling out. And even then nobody is going to do an emergency stop on the motorway, and in 99.99% of cases all you've got to worry about is slowing to 70, which doesn't take very long.

Anyway I was talking about having an accident. Stopping distance is only a factor if you don't allow for it when you're going faster.

*Okay I know it did not so long ago, but in that case nobody blamed the speed of the traffic.

[AtW]

the problem there is them pulling out.

No - the problem is you greatly exceeding speed limit.

I can understand speeding 40 mph on 30 mph road (if real empty dual carriageway, clean view etc), but doing 100 mph on 70 mph road is totally irresponsible - not only you will kill yourself in the event of disaster, but also hit other drivers. Doing 80 on motorway when other people do 70 might be fine, but 100 mph is totally wrong - the speed differential should not be high, otherwise it will lead to problems.

If you want high speed go to track. If you want to save time driving to or from work, then move your house.

[oracleslave]

but the problem there is them pulling out.


Anyway I was talking about having an accident. Stopping distance is only a factor if you don't allow for it when you're going faster.

I don't thnk you can blame someone for pulling out when they are obeying the law by keeping within the speed limit and you are not. If you were within the designated limit the problem wouldn't exist in the first place.

You cannot always allow for things like stopping distances as people perform unforseeable actions when driving that you cannot allow for. High speeds exacerbate the problems these actions can cause.

[DimPrawn]

The simple solution is to let me decide the speed limits at any given point in time, since only lunatics drive faster than me, and anyone slower is a doddery old fart.

HTH

[PerlOfWisdom]

Done 125 but that's not in your list

[shoes]

Re stopping distances

How often have you needed to stop dead to prevent a traffic incident? It is a very rare occurence that requires you to stop whilst driving on a main road. The obstacles on a main road are other road users who are also travelling at speed. If they slow suddenly and you are behind them you can also slow suddenly. Unless you are nuts you would have left a sensible gap between you and them to allow for this. Obviously you would slow down for other potential hazards having read the road ahead.


Re irresponsible driving

Speeding of itself is not a cause of traffic incidents. You cannot say categorically that someone doing 100mph on a motorway is driving dangerously. 80% of good driving is reading what the other guy is going to do - reading the road ahead and driving defensively. You can do this at speed.

An unskilled driver at speed is a danger. Don't assume everyone else is as bad a driver as you Atw. I have been driving like this for 10+ years. I have had a couple of minor prangs when I started driving before I knew what was sensible and what wasn't. Other than that I have had no incidents. I have 8 years without incident. It's not luck.

Like most laws motorway speed limits are to save the incompetent from themselves. They are aimed at the lowest skill level to protect them. Although they also apply to me they are less relevant. The last copper to pull me over (unmarked car) timed my average speed at 95 and told me 'there is nothing wrong with your driving, but you can't go that fast'. I got 3 points and a fine.

If you feel that over 70mph feels dangerous to you AtW then I advise you to not go over 70mph. The preaching is touching but you stick to your self imposed limits and i'll stick to mine. Some of us know what we are doing.

[PerlOfWisdom]

Re stopping distances


If you feel that over 70mph feels dangerous to you AtW then I advise you to not go over 70mph.

Anyone who feels unsafe at 70 on a motorway (in reasonable conditions) shouldn't be on the road. It's much safer walking - not too fast though.

[AtW]

Anyone who feels unsafe at 70 on a motorway (in reasonable conditions) shouldn't be on the road. It's much safer walking - not too fast though.

It's safe on motorway at that speed - most people travel there (when no congestion) at 55-80 mph. Going much higher than this is unsafe because it creates very dangerous differential in speeds - note, that going at 30 mph on motorway when everyone else does 70 mph is also dangerous, that's why it is about speed differential. In case of excessive speeding situation is even worse as stop distances increase greatly.

[VectraMan]

I can understand speeding 40 mph on 30 mph road (if real empty dual carriageway, clean view etc), but doing 100 mph on 70 mph road is totally irresponsible - not only you will kill yourself in the event of disaster, but also hit other drivers. Doing 80 on motorway when other people do 70 might be fine, but 100 mph is totally wrong - the speed differential should not be high, otherwise it will lead to problems. .

What if there aren't any other cars? You have 3 lanes, plus the hard shoulder, plus barriers on either side, are you going to kill yourself if you drive at 100mph? Even if something bad did happen, chances are you'd just bounce off the sides and be fine.

Motorways are extremely safe. Compare a motorway with a country A-road with blind corners, trees by the side of the road, and oncoming traffic, and then tell me that 60mph (the speed limit) is safer than doing 100mph on the motorway.