The pro speed drivers.

basic physics. Mass and speed > the greater the speed , the harder the impact of any collision.

The chances are, hitting someone at 20MPH there is less chance of killing someone than at 30mph and so on.

Moreover, as some folk are keen to blame pedestrians/kids - yes, adults and kids step out into the road without looking, but if you are not speeding you have more time to react and avoid a collision.

A pro speed argument
if going to Leeds and it's 50 miles away and i travel at 50mph it will take 1 hour. If i travel at 100 mph it will take 30 minutes.
So that's 30 minutes i'm not on the road lessening the chances of hitting someone/thing

In my experience, if you obey the speed limit in Warrington the chances are you will have some idiot within 5 yards of your rear bumper in a matter of seconds. That usually results in me getting completely aggro and definitely affects the quality of my driving.

I can definitely see how tailgating can escalate and result in “road rage” as I’ve been close to doing something stupid on occasions myself.

So you shouldn't be on the road either then?

I realise that may have been slightly inflammatory also, and i'm refraining from going further into this for fear of sounding MORE like an idiot. needless to say, i wouldn't wish the situation on anyone.

simple..slam on let the idiot go into the back of you..you put in a claim..nice little holiday somewhere..luvvly jubbly

I think you may have just caused a rift in the space time continuum.

Hmmm, whilst I was vehemently against the whole parking-ticket saga we had on here, I am with the law on this one because that road is a death trap and has been for years so about time something was done.

Although, I do fully understand what Tommy is trying to say too and he is being lambasted for his opinion. There are people who have a valid UK licence in their possession who are a danger at 10mph, never mind 30mph, or 70mph, both to themselves and to others. Just bad drivers. There are also a good number of people who could use that road at 30mph and not cause an accident. What I want to know is, if people were speeding at 30 mph, what makes the authorities think putting it to 20mph would have any effect? If it was policed in the way suggested now at 30 there wouldn’t be a problem imo (or as much of a problem).

Fearnhead lane makes me chuckle though.. speed bumps from one end, right up to the crossroads before the school, then its a drag race past the school to the lights. Why lay speed bumps which have to be the single most annoying thing on the roads today, only to stop them in the most important area?

Re speed humps, bumps.. how do the emergency services cope over them? Serious question, as I often wonder – particularly ambulances.

Yes because the traffic police have everything to do with serious crime investigations, in fact they share all man power don't they.

Lame excuse - people complaining about speed cameras need to grow up, it makes me laugh that it's always the people who then protest that they don't speed as well: utter b******s, if you don't speed, then what do you have to complain about?

Some people are quite capable of driving at 90mph on the motorway and be quite safe, these are generally very experienced drivers who are well used to planning well ahead.

The problem is, everyone can be caught out by somebody else doing something quite unexpected, or a momentary lapse of concentration as a result of being very confident in your own ability to react quickly.

Another side effect of people getting very used to doing 90+mph on the motorway is that it results in road rage when somebody in front of them is unwilling to break the law (for example, myself, who is 1 year in to the 2 year "6 points and you're banned/retest" period as a new driver).

As an exmaple of people being too used to doing far in excess of the 70mph limit on our motorways, I had that very thing happen to me one maybe two months after starting driving, I joined the M56 at the top (from the A5117) to head towards Runcorn, and while it is still a dual carriageway, I overtook a convoy of lorries, while still sticking to the speed limit.

During this time, someone screamed up behind me at god knows what speed, and had to slam on his brakes when he reached me (this person clearly unable to see more than 5ft in front of his own car), who then proceeds to flash his lights at me continually until I can pull back in to the inside lane after passing the lorry.

This person then floors it, gets past me, pulls in front of me nearly chopping the nose of my car off in the process, and slams his brakes on, slowing to 45mph, with his hands off the steering wheel, looking at me in his mirror and shrugging his shoulders as though to say: "well you did that to me".

It is people like that who should not be on the road, but by doing far in excess of the speed limit and expecting that everyone should do the same, you leave yourself victim of succumbing to road rage. Slow down, stick to the speed limits, observe road safety rules and you will find the experience much more calming (not to mention improve your fuel economy considerably).

No, he's saying as a new driver, you cannot collect more than 6pts in 2 years, otherwise you have to take a retest, a probationary period if you will. Baring in mind thats only 2 speeding tickets from a ban, and you can understand why it makes new drivers slow down, a very good initiative. As for the driver you mentioned, it is drivers like that who need to be brought to book, and unfortunately a speed camera cannot do that. We need more traffic police on the roads, or assign highways agency powers to deal with these drivers.

The problem with the whole Long Lane thing is a simple one....It makes little practical sense.

Now, I'm as big a critic of speeding drivers as anybody, but I fail to see the logic in having Long Lane, which is basically a long clearway, as a 20 mph zone, when its conditions actually suit a 30 limit.

This silly logic is compounded when you realise that 200 yards away, Alder Lane, which services the same route as Long Lane, is still a 30 mph zone despite arguably being a more residential area, with more parked cars, which often make it a one lane road, which will create more potential hazards.

I'm all for speed limits, but they should be sensible and not just pandering to the sensibilities of the anti car lobbyists.

In my opinion average speed cameras are probably the best answer. As unsightly and costly as they probably are, drivers have no choice but to keep within the speed limit.

I was up around the Cat and Fiddle at the weekend, bikers paradise and they have installed them there, bet that's uspet some of the bikers! Have no idea how long they've been there but should cut down on the number of fatals in that area which can only be a good thing.

Agreed good post.