Speed Limits - On The Radio Today

[joggerjayne]

Missed the full details, but ...

When people drive more slowly, they feel safer, so they focus less on the actual road. They enter a mental comfort zone.

12% of accidents are caused by speed.

40% of accidents are caused by distractions ... things that catch people's eye, or attract their attention ... including changes in the speed limit, speed cameras, and things that people look at because they are in their slow driving comfort zone.

So does this mean that ... ?

A motorist driving at 40mph is more than three times LESS likely to have an accident than a motorist driving at 20mph.

[jno]

things are supposed to catch your attention. You're supposed to see pedestrian crossings and buses pulling out. Perhaps if they did away with all the speed camera warning signs drivers would have less to look at.

[joggerjayne]

Distractions, rather than attention.

You pay "attention" to pedestrians, and other cars.

You are "distracted" by adverts for underwear, and girls in short skirts.

At 40mph, you look out for pedestrians.

At 20mph, you drift off and gaze at the billboards.

[jno]

well, this proved a controversial thread.

[EcclesCake]

I would put money on there being a report full of graphs stuffed in a filing cabinet in the bowels of TRL on this very subject!

[Iggle Piggle]

I know for a fact that speeding a little on a motorway journey keeps me more alert, If I stick to 70, things get boring, the road noise drones and the engine is too quiet !
Also, round town there are probably too many road signs, the brain can only process about 5 at a time, so 5 road signs and then a stopped car...

[Aeolus]

Just to keep it going!
Whether faster is safer is irrelevant. Slower causes less damage.

[joggerjayne]

Slower causes less damage.

But the suggestion is, going faster, there is more likely to be NO damage.

[Aeolus]

No. At best fewer accidents but with exponentially more damage, including human and collateral, at each.
Just thinking alloud.

[joggerjayne]

Interesting angle, Aeolus. A sort of "aggregate damage" approach.

[DTCwordfan]

Yes - if I remember a defensive driving course, 80% of accidents are at less than 20mph - what that doesn't measure is injury/death.

The difference in terms of 20mph and 30mph in terms of injury is more than double, why I am advocate for an American style system of 20mph in front of schools at drop-off and pick-up, double points for fines, and 20mph in clear residential areas like estates.

[Aeolus]

Well said DT. I'd hate to hit a sheep at 70+.
Sorry, couldn't resist.

[joggerjayne]

Oh, they are thinking of introducing a load more 20mph zones around here.

Most of the time, with the town centre traffic, it would be nice if you could go as fast as 20mph!

[Svejk]

you're young, jj. that's not your fault but, rest assured, one day you'll look back/think back to this thread and cringe. ;-)

[joggerjayne]

I'm young ... ish !

(I'm 47)

[Svejk]

***, I'm shocked, jj. you 'seem' much younger.

[Svejk]

now you've had me 'starred out'. lol'

[Aeolus]

Thanks for the BA jj.
Your only as old as the Man/Woman you feel!

[DTCwordfan]

Aeolus, my brother-in-law managed to hit a wild boar at 90, just north of Bordeaux.......should have seen the mess that made of the undercarriage of his X5.

He got it into a nearby autoroute service area and a couple of truckers and him were able to sort the radiator out - however 3km up the autoroute, the water started to go..... into an 'aire' and then, as they were there, a gendarme came up, the papers for the insurance on him (it's a fairly common event around there) and, even better, the horns off the wild boar as a trophy! Anyway, he was brilliant and with a hunting knife , he started to shape 'bouchons' (corks) with it from some branches and successfully bunged everything up, to the point that they managed to get to their overnight stay with friends in the Cognac area. There, the bro-in-law was able to patch things up further and they made it back to here the next day with no hitches.

[DTCwordfan]

Now the gory bit, wildboar (sanglier) blood and guts go a long way when you whack them at 90+mph.....took a fair amount of hosing down!

[Cloverjo]

If you have to stick to 20 mph, you're more likely to be looking at the speedo than the road. So accidents can happen that way.