speed limiters

[alan-r]

what a another stupid idea from the government asking drivers voluntarily installing a speed limiter if its voluntary then those drivers who do have this fitted will be careful drivers in the first place do you think young speed merchants will have them fitted ,better to have compulsory insurance discs in the windscreen and not having one on view a hefty fine

[deggers316]

i agree mate your not supposed to be able to get a tax disc without insurance or mot certificate ,well its obvious that doesn't work as the thousands of accidents that happen yearly with uninsured drivers, the insurance companies could be linked up with dvlc to issue a standard insurance disc that cant be easily copied like the tax disc,the companies can afford this

[Gromit]

And putting millions of road signs up with the maximum safest speed doesn't work on millions of drivers either.

Making them vountary is the only option for their introduction. Possibly getting instance companies to offer discounts for drivers who have limiters fitted would be helpful. And persistant speeding offenders could be forced to have them fitted as a condition they can keep driving.

[123everton]

They just can't win can they, if it's voluntary it's pointless (pun intended) and if it's compulsory it's control freakery.
I think it's a good idea provided that it's cheap to instal and will offer real tangible savings on insurance within 2 years.

[SeaJayPea]

This doesn't come from the Government at all.

It's from an organisation called The Motorists' Forum. Ever heard of them? No, neither had I until this morning. They call themselves 'government advisors', but that could be a multitude of things. Just a self-appointed pressure group.

Even Safe Speed, another pressure group I've never heard of, says this is a bad idea. I guess this will be just another nine days wonder.

On the other hand, your idea about insurance discs is a great one. You do wonder why it's never been used before. There may be problems with large fleets and rental vehicles, but they could be overcome, I'm sure.

Good idea

[Gromit]

There is no one solution to drivers who drive dangerously, break the law, and put other road users in peril of their lives. Cameras, fines and prison are used to try to enforce the law, and these devices could be another way of keeping our roads safe.

[Coobeastie]

Stamping down on speeding is always the answer to our woes.

I twice daily drive on an A road known for accidents, these mainly occur on corners and whilst overtaking. The solution, catch the speeders conveniently ignoring those drivers who are either unaware of the speed limit or those who purposely travel at upto 30mph beneath the limit. These people seem oblivious to the fact that the road ahead is empty and yet traffic seems to be tailing back behind them this is when accidents occur, this is when accidents occur as the people behind try desperately to get past.

Having watched the device on tv tonight I don't think its safe, a quick overtake (in which you may briefly exceed the limit) is far safer than ending up possibly matching the speed of the vehicle being overtaken as they decide to put their foot down.

[Gromit]

Coobeastie

"...those who purposely travel at upto 30mph beneath the limit. "

It's important to remember that a speed limit is just that - the top speed that you can drive at on any particular road. It's not a target speed, and just because you are allowed to drive at a particular speed, doesn't mean that it's always going to be safe to do so. For example: 60mph may be fine on a sunny day, but dangerous on a dark, wet day.

[Panic Button]

It's a bad idea, lulling people into the feeling that the car knows best, and it is safe to drive at the speed limit.

Many many times on any journey the legal speed limit is far too fast for a particular situation, but some numpty will belt along because the car lets him.

By taking some of the decision making process away from the driver, we might subconciously encourage people to feel less responsible.

As a truck driver I have first hand experience of speed limiters, and am convinced they should not be used in cars.

[birdie1971]

I watched the 5 minute slot on the TV earlier. Apparently, there is a little red button on the steering wheel which allows you to temporarily deactivate the limiter. Err, is it just me, or will people who have this device and want to break the speed limit (for whatever reason), just push the button and floor it? If the device can be bypassed so easily, what�s the point? Sensible people will continue to drive within the speed limit and everyone else will just hit the button and continue to drive like the prats that they are.

Panic Button � �...the legal speed limit is far too fast for a particular situation, but some numpty will belt along because the car lets him.� A very good point.

I�m a highways engineer and have lost count of the number of times I�ve read in the press that a road is �dangerous�. There is no such thing as a dangerous road. Only idiots who drive too quickly for the conditions, or exceed their own driving capability.

How about a compulsory driving test every 3-5 years?

[birdie1971]

And also... I think the driving test should have a practical test whereby drivers have to successfully control a skid. From my experience, most drivers haven�t got a clue how to stop a skid from getting out of control.

I go karting every now and again. I go to an outdoor kart track in Wigan called Three Sisters, where you can race twin engine karts which can go about 60-70 mph flat out. Every time I go, there are always at least a couple of people who skid off the track. When you ask them what happened, the answer is always the same... �it just started to skid and I couldn�t stop it...�.

No. What happened is, you felt the back end start to slide and you didn�t know how to cancel it out.

Get learner drivers on a skid pan and teach them how to deal with that situation.

The driving test is far too easy.

[Coobeastie]

I'm well aware that the limit is just that a limit but when you see vehicles on a daily basis driving slowly purely for the reason that it is dark (the same people have a tendency to apply their brakes if they see any cars on the other side of the road) then you have to wonder whether these people should be on the road at all.

On the subject of you can't have dangerous roads....

http://www.iam.org.uk/motoringtrust/news/archi ve/2006/theresmoretoroadsafetythanjustblamingd riverssaysaamotoringtrust.htm