Speed? Not necessarily dangerous!

[oldrider]

I have been taking notice now for quite a long time and I believe that

"Failing to keep to the left"

or not staying on their side of the road, is the most prevalent rule that drivers of "all" types of vehicles break. (Referring to open highway driving)

Everything else is usually a contributing factor to that breach of the road code.

Speed doesn't really matter much as long as all the other rules are observed.

If speed is dangerous it's usually because another part of the code is breached as well.

What do other people think? :spudwhat:

If this has been done to death before, teach me how to delete the thread! Cheers, John.

[Ixion]

Failing to ensure that you can stop in the clear length of road ahead, IMHO.

And if you take clear to mean "clear and hazard free", and stick with that, then any speed is safe - barring acts of God, like meteorites.

("hazard free" means, no side roads, no farm entranceways , unless anything on them is covered by the "can stop" bit. No matter what speed you are doing, if you can stop before any possible hazrd, it's pretty safe)

[Motu]

Yep,definatly inability to stop safely in the length of clear road ahead.To me it covers 90% of ''accidents''.

[madboy]

I get really sick of the people on this site who seem to think that speed is safe. It's not. If you speed, be prepared to kill. It's a fact. Our government says so, and since more of us voted for them than any other party, it must be true. Because they never lie.

Take me for example. I died on the way home from the hospital when my parents cracked 80 in their 1970-something Toyota. No airbags, no ABS, no pre-tensioners, crossply tyres, drum brakes. And shit that median barrier wasn't that hot in those days. Yeah, I was dead on day one. And I guess since I speed every single day I must have been dead ever since.

It's fine to not keep left, just so long as you do it under the speed limit.

[KLOWN]

although being able to stop safely in the amount of road you can see depends on where you are looking, if , like alot of drivers you are looking at the end of your bonnet you would have to drive around at about 10k/h to be safe. Thats y imho there are alot of nose to tails, as well as people following too close. I think crossing the white line is one of the most 'done' things on our roads and it drives me CRAZY!! Quite often its some old fart doing 20 under the limit or some speeder that can't handle thier car at the speed they are doin. My mates girlfriend crosses the white line all the time, even to the point that the whole car is on the wrong side of the road, my mate and I give here heaps for it but she thinks there is nothing wrong with doing it and also my mate and I are more dangerous cause we exceed the speed limit (without going over the white line). I know i've talked for ages but this isn't one tenth of what i want to say on this topic it really gets me worked up!!!

[bluninja]

Wow.....crossing the white line is bad???? So offsiding to get a better view through a left hand bend/curve must be really insane. I remember my advanced riding instructer telling me how dangerous it was (that bits true). I avoided several collisions in NZ because I could see the idiot cutting the corner and have time to get back to the nearside (and they could see me earlier too). Having said that, it's possible they could move the 'wrong' way to avoid the person on 'their' side of the road and take me out anyway....that's why it's dangerous.

If I drove to the distance I could safely stop in I would be stationary. Every time I increase the gap on motorways for safety somebody moves into that gap...everytime I leave a proper gap on residential roads people see it as an invite to pull out and 'park' in front of me.

[miSTa]

Failing to ensure that you can stop in the clear length of road ahead

A big +1 on that as well. You've just got to give yourself a margin of error.

[Finn]

Just look at the Autobahn if you want proof. Speed is very safe in the right conditions.

[miSTa]

Plus you've got the Northern Territory with no speed limits as well. It's not speed as such but speed for the conditions.

[Grahameeboy]

Just look at the Autobahn if you want proof. Speed is very safe in the right conditions.

Psst....don't tell the Govt...........speed also gets you out of trouble too and the following is interesting:

NZ has one of the lowest average speed limits in the world yet has one of the highest deaths per capita.......

100k = 66mph.....UK limit is 70mph and some of you will know that traffic flows much faster than that on the motorway....and he Police do not get funny about it.

In UK the speed varies....30, 40, 50, 60 mph so as you leave a really built up area the speed limit increases....makes sense and improves driver skils....in NZ it is either 50kph or 100kph except the bridge which is 80kph........real accident spot that...not.........this cannot be good.

Remember 30% of accidents are caused by speed...but 70% are not caused by speed........

[KLOWN]

Psst....don't tell the Govt...........speed also gets you out of trouble too and the following is interesting:

NZ has one of the lowest average speed limits in the world yet has one of the highest deaths per capita.......

100k = 66mph.....UK limit is 70mph and some of you will know that traffic flows much faster than that on the motorway....and he Police do not get funny about it.

In UK the speed varies....30, 40, 50, 60 mph so as you leave a really built up area the speed limit increases....makes sense and improves driver skils....in NZ it is either 50kph or 100kph except the bridge which is 80kph........real accident spot that...not.........this cannot be good.

Remember 30% of accidents are caused by speed...but 70% are not caused by speed........

I bet that the 30% of accidents that are caused by speed involved oher probs aswell, like crossing the white line or some dumbshit who can't drive.

[KLOWN]

Wow.....crossing the white line is bad???? So offsiding to get a better view through a left hand bend/curve must be really insane. I remember my advanced riding instructer telling me how dangerous it was (that bits true). I avoided several collisions in NZ because I could see the idiot cutting the corner and have time to get back to the nearside (and they could see me earlier too). Having said that, it's possible they could move the 'wrong' way to avoid the person on 'their' side of the road and take me out anyway....that's why it's dangerous.

If I drove to the distance I could safely stop in I would be stationary. Every time I increase the gap on motorways for safety somebody moves into that gap...everytime I leave a proper gap on residential roads people see it as an invite to pull out and 'park' in front of me.

Ok I should have been more specific, crossing the white line on a corner when u can't see whats coming. If its a long straight road with no other road users about you cann drive on the wrong side of the road for all i care.

[Lou Girardin]

You're right Madboy, I've died hundreds of times. Even this morning I had a near death experience when I did 51 km/h.
In fact, I'm thinking of sueing the Govt for allowing me to speed officially and getting me hooked on the feeling.
It's worked for undercover cops hooked on dope, so why not me?

[Grahameeboy]

I bet that the 30% of accidents that are caused by speed involved oher probs aswell, like crossing the white line or some dumbshit who can't drive.

Yep, if you take out "Didn't stop cause I was going to fast"; "Didn't see him cause he was going too fast" which contain the "Speed" element to enter under speed related accidents it works out that just 4% of accident involve actual excessive speed....

[bugjuice]

I can't stand the fact that people drive in whatever lane they want at whatever speed they want. Fucks me off big time. I've seen people join the motorway, and hit the brakes hard to join the slow moving right hand lane?!?!?! wtf?!?! they feel bad cos they're in a free flowing lane already?!!? ffs

FUCKING LEARN TO DRIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Out of town, on the single lane roads, when a passing lane comes up, it says 'Keep left unless passing'. Is that so hard to do on motorways??!?!!?!?!! gah!!!!!!!!!!!