Random Irritations

[backwoodsman]

So how do you get to the stage of no appreciable risk in a built up area

Places where, for example, there are none (or extremely few) of the 'hazards' that would come to harm if a car ran into them.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

Places where, for example, there are none (or extremely few) of the 'hazards' that would come to harm if a car ran into them.

Which in a built up is near on impossible them unless you have a curfew and not allow kids etc outside

 

[pendodave]

And common sense says that when there is no appreciable risk of hitting anything, 30 should be perfectly acceptable - even in built up areas.

I'm curious about how there can be no appreciable risk of hitting anything in a built up area, but whatevs.
As for the whataboutery regarding why not slow everywhere, motorways and dual carriageways don't have cyclists or pedestrians. There may be all sorts of reasons to control speeds on these, but the current speeds seem fine enough to me.
in 2023, there were 595 homicides in the UK. There were 1645 road fatalities. There are also a huge number of externalities in terms of pollution, fear of traffic reducing active travel etc etc etc. There's an enormous amount we can do without significantly reducing personal mobility.

 

[Fade and Die]

Trying to get my hospital results to see if it's worked or not.
Nope, looks like I'll have to guess.

Have you checked on your NHS app? I had a blood test last week, when I went back to the surgery to discuss, I asked if I could see the results and the nurse told me where to find them on the App. They were loaded up the day after my blood test.

 

[Bazz]

Have you checked on your NHS app? I had a blood test last week, when I went back to the surgery to discuss, I asked if I could see the results and the nurse told me where to find them on the App. They were loaded up the day after my blood test.

I have mate, nothing on there unfortunately. Thanks though

 

[Steve Wilkes]

I support 20 in towns mainly because it's the only way to get people to do 30!

I fully agree with this 20 brings drivers down to less than 30, but then don't give me a ticket for doing 24 (twice): I agree with throw the book at them for doing more than 30

 

[Bunkermagnet]

I’ve never known such a concentrated number of people who, from what’s said, only drive around town/suburbia at any time of day at 15/18 mph…. As 20 is the maximum allowed and not the drive at speed and we must allow for speedo over reading….

 

[Bazz]

I like to try to support the small businesses wherever I can, phoned for an opticians appointment at my local one and the voicemail said to WhatsApp them instead. Took 30 seconds to book online with Vision Express.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

I’ve never known such a concentrated number of people who, from what’s said, only drive around town/suburbia at any time of day at 15/18 mph…. As 20 is the maximum allowed and not the drive at speed and we must allow for speedo over reading…

If 20 mph is the spend limit why would I need to go any faster

 

[Crazyface]

Next doors hammering, drilling and the rest. It's been going of for 8 weeks now. Why didn't they just flippin' move? Oh no don't want to make me happy. And another reason to move will be that Miss wobble bum weeble will not be able to climb the stairs much longer, the fat lard bum.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

Next doors hammering, drilling and the rest. It's been going of for 8 weeks now. Why didn't they just flippin' move? Oh no don't want to make me happy. And another reason to move will be that Miss wobble bum weeble will not be able to climb the stairs much longer, the fat lard bum.

Crazy, get off the fence and speak your mind will ya

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Crazy, get off the fence and speak your mind will ya

Or go tell them, instead of us

 

[RichA]

Going to work in the dark. Coming home in the dark.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Going to work in the dark. Coming home in the dark.

Some of us have been doing that for a few weeks now...

 

[cliveb]

Let’s be sensible here and use a bit of common sense

It’s about the risks and outside agency’s

When traveling on “motorways and trunks roads etc” the risks are just a little different and traffic can move safely and smoothly at higher speeds.


In built areas the risk is greater due to the make up of roads , cars parked , pedestrians, other cars coming the other way

Surely it’s just “common sense”

It's all very well saying it should be "common sense". If we could rely on everyone's common sense, there would be no need for speed limits at all.
Of course we can't rely on all drivers being sensible, so we have limits.

But speed limits are a very blunt instrument, and there are countless circumstances where the posted limit is either too high or too low. Tailgating at 65mph on a busy motorway in the pouring rain is WAY more dangerous than driving a Ferrari/Aston/Porsche/etc at 120mph on an empty, dry motorway. For sure, we have laws about driving dangerously, and if only there were traffic police around, the 65mph tailgater could be prosecuted. But these days enforcement seems limited to speed cameras, so only the guy in his Ferrari gets caught.

As for built up areas, let me play Devil's advocate and state that the speed limit should be 10mph. It's clearly safer than 20, so why not? If you argue that 10 is "obviously" too low, why isn't 20?

 

[Arthur Wedge]

It's all very well saying it should be "common sense". If we could rely on everyone's common sense, there would be no need for speed limits at all.
Of course we can't rely on all drivers being sensible, so we have limits.

But speed limits are a very blunt instrument, and there are countless circumstances where the posted limit is either too high or too low. Tailgating at 65mph on a busy motorway in the pouring rain is WAY more dangerous than driving a Ferrari/Aston/Porsche/etc at 120mph on an empty, dry motorway. For sure, we have laws about driving dangerously, and if only there were traffic police around, the 65mph tailgater could be prosecuted. But these days enforcement seems limited to speed cameras, so only the guy in his Ferrari gets caught.

As for built up areas, let me play Devil's advocate and state that the speed limit should be 10mph. It's clearly safer than 20, so why not? If you argue that 10 is "obviously" too low, why isn't 20?

A speed limit is fine , no one has any reason to be flying around beyond speed limits

Yes they are arbitrary but that’s the world we live in - rules and laws eh

And people do and always will be punished if caught dangerously driving regardless of the speed


As for 10mph in areas wouldn’t bother me and yes it is safer at 10 mph and some roads will have them


I’ll never understand why people always seems to have an issue when people are looking for ways to make it safer

 

[Mandofred]

I’ll never understand why people always seems to have an issue when people are looking for ways to make it safer

Because health and safety are nuts. I remember back a gazillion years now and they banned store owners from putting up their Christmas lights in front of their stores with a ladder....they needed to rent a cherry picker. Yes....technically likely safer....but come on....stopping somebody from falling off a ladder by basically banning ladders...madness. If you ban cars....nobody would get in car accidents.

 

[PJ87]

Because health and safety are nuts. I remember back a gazillion years now and they banned store owners from putting up their Christmas lights in front of their stores with a ladder....they needed to rent a cherry picker. Yes....technically likely safer....but come on....stopping somebody from falling off a ladder by basically banning ladders...madness. If you ban cars....nobody would get in car accidents.

Health and safety and road safety are completely different kettles of fish

 

[Mandofred]

Health and safety and road safety are completely different kettles of fish

Yep....but safety carried to the extreme is....madness. 20mph is pretty bloody slow... If I wanted to make weird extreme decisions to make people safer....I can do that....but at what cost? If you required everybody to drive on the motorway at 10mph....it would be safer. But.....

 

[PJ87]

Yep....but safety carried to the extreme is....madness. 20mph is pretty bloody slow... If I wanted to make weird extreme decisions to make people safer....I can do that....but at what cost? If you required everybody to drive on the motorway at 10mph....it would be safer. But.....

Completely different risks.

Motorways are still the safest roads to travel on despite the speed involved

Through towns you have cyclists and pedestrians who are a risk and we need to make the roads safer for them.

No point encouraging people to use bikes to get about if it's a death trap