Unnecessary exhibition of speed or acceleration

[Waylander]

No, I don't expect it but there is always hope.

Hope is a dangerous thing.
Personally I'de rather the government just left me the fuck alone. Stop bombarding me with useless shit that no one pays attention to anyway.
Let me keep what little money I earn and grab joy and happiness where I can without some fuckwit comming down and saying "That's unsafe and I don't like you doing it so I'm gonna make it illegal." (brings us back to the original topic, I like practising drag starts at the lights) I'm the only one that should be able to choose what I do with my life and how I do it.

I know some people out there need the rules and regulations and shit so a few laws are good, but they should not take freedom away from decent people with sound minds. There's my Utopia, shame it'll never happen.

[spudchucka]

You CAN have speed without a sudden stop. I do this every time I drive to work. The two combine to form an accident on extremely rare occasions when you consider how many kays are driven every day.

The point is that you can't have a "crash", (there are no accidents) if you are stationary. Therefore, it flys in the face of common sense to suggest that you can have one without the other! Or, in other words, you can't have a sudden stop, (crash) unless you first have velocity, (speed).

[RC1]

The point is that you can't have a "crash", (there are no accidents) if you are stationary. Therefore, it flys in the face of common sense to suggest that you can have one without the other! Or, in other words, you can't have a sudden stop, (crash) unless you first have velocity, (speed).

so when i was slammed into while stationary does this mean i did not have a "CRASH"

[spudchucka]

so when i was slammed into while stationary does this mean i did not have a "CRASH"

Even though you were stationary does it mean that there was no speed involved?

[swbarnett]

you can't have a sudden stop, (crash) unless you first have velocity, (speed).

Agreed, but you can have speed without a sudden stop. A relationship being true in one direction does not mean that the reverse is also true.

Hope is a dangerous thing.
Personally I'de rather the government just left me the fuck alone. Stop bombarding me with useless shit that no one pays attention to anyway.

There's my Utopia, shame it'll never happen.

Can I come? I promise not to nag!

[spudchucka]

Agreed, but you can have speed without a sudden stop. A relationship being true in one direction does not mean that the reverse is also true.

Yep, well you can own lotto tickets without ever actually winning the thing too, doesn't mean that the latest lotto winner isn't travelling at high speed in your direction and fucken kills you in their haste to get the hands on the $$$$.

[Waylander]

Yep, well you can own lotto tickets without ever actually winning the thing too, doesn't mean that the latest lotto winner isn't travelling at high speed in your direction and fucken kills you in their haste to get the hands on the $$$$.

Or...

[YOUTUBE]Krnt1ZyUkpw[/YOUTUBE]

[swbarnett]

Yep, well you can own lotto tickets without ever actually winning the thing too, doesn't mean that the latest lotto winner isn't travelling at high speed in your direction and fucken kills you in their haste to get the hands on the $$$$.

The chances of this happening are infinitesimal. Personally, I like the odds.

[scumdog]

Agreed, but you can have speed without a sudden stop.

And you can vouch that is going to happen EVERY time you go for a ride - at any speed you happen to chose?

(Who needs speed limits, right?)

[swbarnett]

Agreed, but you can have speed without a sudden stop.

And you can vouch that is going to happen EVERY time you go for a ride - at any speed you happen to chose?

(Who needs speed limits, right?)

No, I can't guarantee that is going to happen EVERY time I go for a ride. This is where a definition of the term "safe" is required. "Safe" does not come with a guarantee. To be 100% safe is to be dead, so what's the point?

A zero road toll is only achievable when the human factor is removed (even then, computers break down). Automated roads may sound safe but I don't want to be around when the data gets corrupted.

Actually, I do have a speed limit - that which allows me to stop in half the visibility in front of me or the whole distance between me and any hazard not connected with oncoming traffic. Under this model why do we need posted speed limits?

[scumdog]

Actually, I do have a speed limit - that which allows me to stop in half the visibility in front of me or the whole distance between me and any hazard not connected with oncoming traffic. Under this model why do we need posted speed limits?

Because not everybody is astute as you - and that little old man backing his trailer out onto the street might 'assume your bike is doing about 50kph when you are actually doing 80kph...or the guy doing the right turn across your bows that didn't even see you, 50 might give you a better chance than 80...

How do you adjust your speed for undulating road? 140 going into a dip in the road may be real safe but 100 may still be a risk as you go over the crest.....

Until everybody is as good as you we need speed limits, breath alcohol limits etc etc all based on the lowest common denominator.

[Patrick]

This is basic physics.

Newton's first law: An object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an external and unbalanced force.

Speed alone = constant motion.

Speed + opposing, unbalanced force (another vehicle perhaps) = sudden stop.

Therefore, speed alone cannot cause an accident. QED

All nice and a box of fluffys in your physics world, I see... where is this majical road that no one else uses and has no other obstructions on it??? I'd like to go for a blat on it....

[swbarnett]

Because not everybody is astute as you - and that little old man backing his trailer out onto the street might 'assume your bike is doing about 50kph when you are actually doing 80kph...or the guy doing the right turn across your bows that didn't even see you,

So what you're saying is that because I and others like me (or better) have to drive like we're complete idiots? Guess what, treat people like idiots and that's what you get.

50 might give you a better chance than 80...

Agreed. And 30 might give you a better chance than 50. Which is why I am down to a speed at which I can stop before the driveway when someone threatens to come into my path and I don't have room to avoid if necessary.

How do you adjust your speed for undulating road? 140 going into a dip in the road may be real safe but 100 may still be a risk as you go over the crest.....

As I've already stated I drive to the visibility. I try to keep a constant speed in a straight line where possible but if the visibility drops so does my speed so that I can still stop in half my visibility. This is why I corner on blind bends slower than open ones.

Until everybody is as good as you we need speed limits, breath alcohol limits etc etc all based on the lowest common denominator.

I think you've hit it here. This is the root of the argument. You want everybody to be totally safe (zero road toll etc.) and I respect life and the price that must be paid. I don't want total freedom, that would be anarchy, but total safety is just as bad. All I ask for is that if I'm not harming anybody to be left alone to live my life as I see fit.

A thought just occurred to me - I lived in Switzerland for a couple of years a while back. Over there they have the best public transport system I've ever seen. As a result the density of motor vehicles is very low - in Zurich there were 1350 people for every car. The "lowest common denominator" of drivers simply doesn't drive. They don't want to, they prefer to be chauffeur driven in comfort than to have the stress of driving. Perhaps that could be applied here. A decent public transport system would remove a large number of bad drivers from the roads and vastly reduce the road maintenance bill. This would leave the road largely for those of us that actually enjoy driving or make a living out of it (truck drivers, couriers, taxis and the like).

[swbarnett]

All nice and a box of fluffys in your physics world, I see... where is this majical road that no one else uses and has no other obstructions on it??? I'd like to go for a blat on it....

All I'm trying to say is that blaming speed alone is a misnomer. Speed is only attacked IMO because it's easy and let's the politicians fool the voters into thinking that they're doing something constructive.

[Patrick]

May be.. but clearly, speed is a factor, as is the sudden stop. The faster you are going, the worse the forces are going to be in stopping. (Simple fizics 101)...