"85 per cent of all crashes occur below the speed limit"

**Skyryder** · 7th April 2004, 21:52

Originally Posted by Posh Tourer :P

And then people will drive at 70. People will always push the limits. try falling off at 60 and see now fast it feels. Its all about habituation. 60 is seen as a normal speed and thus not that fast ( I do it myself). Then I compare it with the distances I cover in the same time by walking / cycling and think bloody hell we are lucky to be going 50. It takes me 3hours to walk home from town, but only 10 mins to ride.

Yes I know that the prevailing theory for not upping the limit in the urban area is the one that you have suggested. People will drive at 70. I hold the view that the reason most people drive at around 60k's is that this is deemed to be a safe driving speed. Like I mean to say who here drives at 50k's when they can drive just under 60 safely??

Skyryder

**FzerozeroT** · 13th April 2004, 18:23

Just got back from india and the speed limit is not enforced AT ALL by police, it is enforced by the Suzuki 800's that everybody drives and the 50 Year old roads that keep speeds below 60 or you will lose a wheel! Little boys that I talked to were amazed that our limit was 100kph, "have you ever been faster than that?" - "of course not, that would be against the law"

**Lou Girardin** · 13th April 2004, 21:11

Originally Posted by Skyryder

Lou Go to http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/roads/traffi...e-04072002.pdf

Skyryder

Thanks, I've never seen these signs at any of our local schools. It's surprising that they're not using them.
Lou

**wkid_one** · 13th April 2004, 22:08

Well - given some inordinate amount of accidents happen at intersections - it would go without saying that they happen below the speed limit.

Fuck - at the end of the day - regardless of the speed limit - if the general population of NZ can only score 40 odd percent on our road code - you are asking for trouble - regardless of what the speed limit is. Why is it that the focus is on speed when so many kiwi's don't even know the road code? I'm sorry but I would rather face an educated driver coming at me at 140kph than a dunce at 90kph.

This education v legislation argument has come up before.

Like this new LTSA ad....who fucken cares what happens to you if you are travelling 5kph quicker than the car next to you. Teach people about how to IDENTITY AND AVOID possible accidents rather than convince them that travelling at 50kph is the Holy Grail that will be the saving grace of all drivers.

The LTSA seem to have this 'If you travel at the speed limit - you won't have an accident' - theme to their advertising campaigns - this couldn't be further from the truth. If you travel at the speed limit - and you don't know the fucken road rules, know nothing about hazard identification and risk minimisation - you ARE an accident waiting to happen.

This pisses me off - as it is OUR money that is paying for these worthless ads. Yet - we in general are more aware of hazards etc by the very nature that we have more to lose.....think about how much safer motorcycling would be WITHOUT CARS.

**Lou Girardin** · 14th April 2004, 06:50

Good point, and call me slow, but I've just realised that the slower vehicle in that ad also had an accident. So the LTSA message is that it's OK to have little accidents not big ones.
Lou
PS Why didn't the right hand car steer around the rear of the truck?

**James Deuce** · 14th April 2004, 08:10

Lou, Wkid - thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you....

**riffer** · 14th April 2004, 08:23

Originally Posted by Lou Girardin

PS Why didn't the right hand car steer around the rear of the truck?

Because then the majority of the thickos that drive in the country would be confused by the ad.

Remember Lou, the average IQ is 100. That means, according to general bell curve probability, that there will be at least 20 percent of the drivers on the road will have an IQ up to 25 points below that.

A scary prospect, especially as I would imagine most of the people that frequent this site would easily score 25 points over the average.

LTSA have to make ads the "average person on the street" understand. The average person on the street thinks New Zealand Idol is a good example of entertaining TV and value for our TV money too.

**SPman** · 14th April 2004, 12:46

Originally Posted by celticno6

Remember Lou, the average IQ is 100. That means, according to general bell curve probability, that there will be at least 20 percent of the drivers on the road will have an IQ up to 25 points below that.....
..... The average person on the street thinks New Zealand Idol is a good example of entertaining TV and value for our TV money too.

A scary prospect, especially as I would imagine most of the people that frequent this site would easily score 25 points over the average.

Are you sure about that?

**spudchucka** · 14th April 2004, 15:11

Originally Posted by Lou Girardin

Good point, and call me slow, but I've just realised that the slower vehicle in that ad also had an accident. So the LTSA message is that it's OK to have little accidents not big ones.
Lou
PS Why didn't the right hand car steer around the rear of the truck?

The message is that when you have an accident, speed relates directly to the net damage incurred.

**Jackrat** · 14th April 2004, 15:52

Originally Posted by spudchucka

The message is that when you have an accident, speed relates directly to the net damage incurred.

Yet all these above average IQ types still can't work that out.
Just as well I'm below average,I worked it out as soon as I saw it.
Seems being a bright fuck means you also have to read things that are not there into everything.The message was pretty bloody simple.But,But,But,Yeah sure.

**spudchucka** · 14th April 2004, 20:16

Originally Posted by Jackrat

Yet all these above average IQ types still can't work that out.
Just as well I'm below average,I worked it out as soon as I saw it.
Seems being a bright fuck means you also have to read things that are not there into everything.The message was pretty bloody simple.But,But,But,Yeah sure.

People see what they want to see, its the head up your own arse syndrome.

**FROSTY:Me** · 14th April 2004, 20:45

what happened to the idea of varying the speed limit to uit conditions?
Like 40km in a cul de sac or round schools and 110 on an open wide highway

**madandy** · 14th April 2004, 21:05

That would be too confusing for the wizards in government...trying to decide which speed limit sign to assign to an area...

**avgas** · 18th November 2004, 20:42

but speed is not poportional to damage, you can crash at 200kph and not die, where as if you crash into something at 50kph you can.
Momentum is the key here - if the bike stops, and you keep going, you end up with the total momentum. Yes speed is propotional to momentum, but speed alone does not cause damage.
The reason for my saying this, was the most horrific crash i have ever had on a bike (6 months ago), was when i was doing 20kph!
Long story short - i was taken out by a car, my leg was shattered, and my safety gear saved the rest of me from serious harm (allthough i did turn black for a while).
The other bad crashes i have had all below 45.
Mind due, with that said - how many people survive a 100+kph crash into something?

**bluninja** · 18th November 2004, 21:15

Originally Posted by avgas

but speed is not poportional to damage, you can crash at 200kph and not die, where as if you crash into something at 50kph you can.
Momentum is the key here - if the bike stops, and you keep going, you end up with the total momentum. Yes speed is propotional to momentum, but speed alone does not cause damage.
The reason for my saying this, was the most horrific crash i have ever had on a bike (6 months ago), was when i was doing 20kph!
Long story short - i was taken out by a car, my leg was shattered, and my safety gear saved the rest of me from serious harm (allthough i did turn black for a while).
The other bad crashes i have had all below 45.
Mind due, with that said - how many people survive a 100+kph crash into something?

It's not how fast you were going...it's how fast you stop